The Romance of Katie and Hikaru
by The Needless Lobsters
Summary: It's been a year since Katie moved to Ouran Academy, and now she's well and fully integrated into life at Ouran High School as well as the Host Club. But now she has a problem. Her feelings for a certain redhead have risen to uncomfortable levels. Will they finally break from friendship into romance? (Cover designed by me)
1. Holidays Abroad Part 1

**Hello, readers! I know it hasn't actually been that long since I finished the first season, but here's your second season! I hope you enjoy it, guys!**

* * *

Holidays abroad part 1

Hikaru sighed as he rested back against the soft leather seats. "Why did we have to travel like commoners again?"

"Because I don't want to look rich like you two," Katie explained. "Plus, it's fun."

"Yeah, walking out of an airport carrying your own luggage straight into the rain is fun," Kaoru muttered. He shook his hair out. "I'm cold and wet now. Thank you very much, Katie."

"No problem." She was about to wring her hair out when she noticed Hikaru glaring at her. "What?"

"Don't wring your hair out. You'll get the water all on the carpet," he pointed out.

"So you want me to open the window and do it there instead?" she asked.

"No!" The boys stopped her before her hand could touch the handle. "It's raining! You'll get us all wet."

Katie smirked. "Okay!" She reached for the handle again.

"NO!"

Katie laughed as she opened the window and let rain fall into the limousine. "Yay!"

The twins glared at her as rain came in and soaked them again. "And we were just getting dry…" They huffed. "Baka."

"Come on – cheer up! It's only rain!"

Kaoru stopped pouting as much, but Hikaru just continued to pout.

"I don't want to get wet again, though," he whined.

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "Baby."

"Shut up."

Kaoru sighed. His brother could be so immature… "So, who are we going to see first?" he asked.

Katie shrugged before getting out her phone – her new HTC Sensation – and checking her texts. "We're all going out on Wednesday, so we have a whole day to ourselves tomorrow." She looked over at the boys. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Sleep," Hikaru stated with a yawn.

Kaoru snorted. "You've been doing that for weeks."

"So? I have jet lag!" He yawned. "I'll need to sleep for a whole day to catch up."

"No you don't."

"Why can't you just let me sleep?"

"Why don't we let Katie take us on a walk around the town?" Kaoru suggested.

"Kao…"

"I'll do that." Katie smiled. "Don't you want to go on a walk with me, Hikaru?"

Hikaru's face tinted a light pink. "It's not that." He lounged back in the chair and lay sprawled across half the seat. "I just don't want to walk. I can't be asked to. It's effort."

"Alright. I'll go with Kao, then," Katie answered. "We'll go to the town, walk around the shops a bit, and then buy some sandwiches and go to the town park. Does that sound good?"

Kaoru smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it'll be fun. Just me, and you, and the park. On our own little picnic…" He spared a glance at his brother.

Hikaru glared at Kaoru. _You will pay dearly for this…_

Kaoru smiled. "Unless you want to go?" he asked. _Oooh, bite me, Hika._

Hikaru glared even more at Kaoru. _Kaoru, you know I have a crush on her…_

"Is that a no?" Kaoru asked. _Take the opportunity._ "If you want, you can go with just her?"

"I'll go," Hikaru sighed. "But you come along too." _I… I don't think I can be alone with her, Kao…_

"Fine. We'll both go," Kaoru said. "Is that alright, Katie?"

Katie nodded slowly, staring at Hikaru slightly. "Yeah… that's fine…" She frowned. "What made you change your mind?"

Hikaru blushed slightly. "Nothing. Honest."

"Oh, alright." She smiled at him. "I glad you changed your mind! It's going to be fun!"

"Yay…" Hikaru closed his eyes. "Now can you guys leave me to sleep?"

"Are you really that tired?" Kaoru asked. "Or is it from what happened all those weeks ago?"

"I want to sleep, and get away from you." He opened one eye. "Katie, shut that window."

Katie snorted. "Lol, no."

Hikaru glared at her. "Katie… come on…"

"Fine." She sighed and shut the window. "Moody."

Hikaru huffed. "I'm sleepy."

"Can't you wait until we get back to that mansion to sleep?" Kaoru asked exasperatedly.

"No."

Kaoru glared at his brother. "Seriously? What's up with you? You're so moody?"

"It's just the jet lag." Hikaru closed both his eyes again. "Leave me alone."

Kaoru sighed. "Why do you always have to be like this?"

"Yeah, Hika," Katie agreed. "You're so freaking moody. It's annoying."

Hikaru pouted. "Yeah, well I'm not in the mood to do anything."

"Then sleep, baby Hika." Katie mock-pouted at him. "Does Hika want his wittle bottle too?"

Hikaru glared at her. "Oh for goodness sake…"

Kaoru laughed. "Thank you, Katie…"

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked into the mansion. "Why do you two get to live in such huge, elegant places?"

"Because we're rich." The twins carried their luggage up the stairs. "You coming?"

Katie sighed and picked up her luggage. "Sure, in a minute." She paused when she saw a picture hanging by the end of the staircase, and put down her luggage before walking over to get a better look at it.

There were four people in the photo – two boys, who looked identical to each other, a man and a woman. The two boys and the woman all had red hair, but the man had dark hair. The two boys also seemed to bear a lot of resemblance to the woman, from their hair down to their grins.

Katie smiled. It was Hikaru, Kaoru and their parents on a holiday. She looked at the background and smiled when she realized that it was actually the front of this mansion. The day seemed to be a good one, if the blue sky and bright sun shining on the green lawn were anything to go by. She reached out to touch the picture. _Hika and Kao looked so young… they must've been around six…_

"That was one of the few holidays we went on with our parents."

Katie looked up to see Hikaru walking down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. He smiled at her.

"Interested in our family photos?"

Katie turned back to the picture. "One of the _few_?"

Hikaru sighed. "Our mom and dad never really took us on holidays as they were usually working. Whenever they took us on holidays, they'd usually either bring us here, or take us to our holiday home in Los Angeles."

She smiled. "That's nice."

Hikaru smiled. "Whenever we came here, our parents used to take us on walks and picnics…"

Katie gave him another smile. "So that's why you didn't want to go out with us?"

Hikaru laughed nervously. "It's childish, isn't it?"

"No. I get it. You want to preserve those memories." She shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Really?" Hikaru asked. "I mean, if you still want to go out…"

Katie sighed. _There was no winning with this guy…_ "Look, do you or do you not want to go on a walk tomorrow?"

"Not."

"Then don't come." She picked up her luggage. "Stay and sleep. We'll need you rested for Wednesday."

Hikaru pouted. "But… but I want to stay with you… and Kao…"

"Hikaru, please make up your mind."

He sighed and picked up the rest of her luggage. "I can't… fine. I'll go with you."

Katie smiled. "I'm holding you to that."

"Yeah, but can I sleep until midday tomorrow first? Then we can go out?"

Katie smirked. "I wasn't planning on waking up early anyway. Jet lag, remember?" She headed up the stairs. "Come on, Hika. You still have to show me to my room."

"Sure!" He followed her upstairs. "But you have to let me lead if you want to find your room!"

"Fine! Hurry up!" She smiled at him. "I want to get my stuff ready _before_ tomorrow, thank you very much!"

* * *

"Hey, you awake?"

Hikaru groaned and opened one eye. "What?" he demanded.

Kaoru smiled. "Hika, it's 11 a.m. You need to wake up."

Hikaru groaned and shut his eyes before rolling over again. "Katie said I could sleep until 12. I will sleep until 12."

"Katie's making bacon. She kicked the chefs out of the kitchen to cook for us."

Hikaru huffed. "I want to sleep, though. Why can't you let me sleep?"

Kaoru sighed. "Because breakfast is getting cold. Come on."

Hikaru pouted. "But I want to sleep…"

"Get up!" Kaoru dragged the covers off Hikaru, exposing the bare chest and pyjama bottoms underneath.

"Hey!" Hikaru sat up, shivering. "I'm cold! Kao!"

"Breakfast. Now. Hika."

Hikaru pouted before grabbing another blanket and snuggling under that. "I want to sleep."

Kaoru sighed before grinning and grabbing the end of the blanket. "Hika, time to wake up…"

Hikaru gripped the blanket tightly. "No! No!"

Kaoru laughed and started pulling the blanket, ending up with pulling Hikaru off the bed as well. "Oh, come on!"

"No! No! No!" he laughed as he was dragged along the floor. "Kao! No!"

"Yes! Come on! It's time for you to eat!"

"No Kao! No!" Hikaru attempted to grip onto the bedpost, but the metal slipped out of his fingers. "No! Kao!"

Kaoru laughed and started to drag Hikaru out of his room. "Katie! I've woken Hikaru up! Can you heat his breakfast for him?"

"Okay!" Katie called back.

"No! No! I don't want to, Katie! Help!" he continued to laugh as Kaoru continued to pull him along the corridor. "No! Not the stairs! Kao!"

Kaoru grinned. "Why not, Hika? Are you… afraid?"

"No, Kao! My head! You'll hurt my head!" Hikaru tried to pull back, but he kept slipping against the blanket. "Kao! No!"

"Then I'll just have to carry you." Kaoru stopped pulling on the blanket and gave an evil grin.

"No… no, no, no, no, no! Kao! Don't! You know I don't really like hanging upside down!"

"I know." He grabbed Hikaru's legs and swung them over his shoulder before lifting the rest of Hikaru's body. "Have fun, Hika!"

Hikaru groaned. "Kao, you know I really don't…" He frowned before paling. "Kao… my head hurts…"

"Oh come on, Hika! It's gonna be fun! Calm down! All that scared of rollercoasters stuff has gotten to your head."

"No… Kao… I really don't like this…" He could feel his head starting to pound. _No, no, no… I don't want to feel like I'm on a rollercoaster…_ He brought his hand up to his mouth. _I think I'm gonna be sick…_ "Kao…"

"Hikaru, don't think you're on a rollercoaster."

"But you _know_ I don't like hanging upside down…"

"Don't, Hika. Calm down. You're panicking. That's what makes you sick and scared."

Hikaru didn't realize he was hyperventilating until he heard Kaoru say that. He held his breath and attempted to calm down. "Okay… I'm calmer…"

Kaoru smiled. "Good, Hika. You're getting better. You know, dad used to do this all the time."

Hikaru nodded. "I know, but that was before…" he trailed off. "Kao, I'm getting dizzy. Can you put me down now?"

Kaoru nodded before dropping his brother on the floor.

Hikaru winced. "Ow! Kao!"

Kaoru just smirked. "You didn't say _how_ I should put you down."

Hikaru sat up and rubbed his head. "That hurt…"

Katie walked out into the corridor. "Oh good, you're here." She wore a pink t-shirt, with a pair of jeans and her converse, as if she was already ready to go out. The only thing was the fact that she was wearing an apron, like she did when she was cooking.

Hikaru smiled. "Nice outfit. You going out walking in that?"

Katie glared at him. "Maybe the pigeons would want bacon instead then," she threatened.

Hikaru shut his mouth.

Kaoru sighed. _They really would do well as a married couple…_

"I… I think I'll have breakfast now," Hikaru muttered.

"Good. Get up. I'm not dragging you to the kitchen."

"I wish you would," Hikaru muttered lowly enough that Katie wouldn't hear.

Kaoru's eyes widened and he stared at Hikaru. _He did not just…_ "Hika…" _He should be dating her already…_

Hikaru smirked at Kaoru. _She didn't hear, she doesn't need to know._ "What, Kao?"

Kaoru shook his head at his brother. "Never mind." He pulled Hikaru to his feet. "Go and eat."

Hikaru nodded and was about to walk off when he tripped over the blanket. He frowned and turned over. Kaoru had knotted the blankets around his feet whilst carrying him down the stairs. He glared at his brother. "Kao…"

Kaoru just laughed. "You weren't paying attention. I couldn't help it."

Hikaru glared at his brother more. "Just help me out of this."

Kaoru smiled at him. "Fine." He bent down and started untangling the blanket from around his brother's ankles.

Hikaru sighed. "Why do you do this to me, Kao?" he asked, clearly annoyed with him.

Kaoru shrugged. "It's fun, Hika. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done that too?"

"Not if I knew my brother would be scared," Hikaru pointed out as he watched Kaoru take out the last couple of knots. "You scared me when you carried me down like that, Kao."

"Because you're afraid of rollercoasters?" Kaoru asked. "Hika, you have to get over your fear."

Hikaru looked away from his brother. "Can you hurry up, Kao? I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Don't change the subject," Kaoru said sternly. "I just want to help you."

"Well, I don't want your help."

"Fine. Finish this knot on your own." Kaoru dropped the last knot and headed upstairs. "I need to change."

Hikaru just stared after his brother. "Kao! Come on!" He tried to sit up and untie the knot, but his fingers just fumbled with it. "Kao!"

"Are you alright, Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked up to see Katie walking back into the corridor. "No..."

She frowned. "Did Kaoru do that?" she asked, pointing at the knot.

Hikaru nodded. "He tied it up as he was walking down..." He tried to pull the knot apart. "I can't untie it!"

Katie sighed and knelt down beside his feet. "Okay, keep still. I think I can untie it." She reached out and started fiddling with the knot, trying to untie it.

Hikaru sat still. "Baka Kao," he muttered. "Why did he have to make the knot so tight?"

Katie shrugged. "I'm not Kaoru, am I?" She finished untying the knot. "There you go. All done."

Hikaru smiled at her. "Thank you." He slowly got up, moving his feet to untangle them.

"No problem," Katie answered as she stood back up. "Try not to let Kaoru let you get all tangled up next time."

Hikaru sighed and nodded. "I'll try..." He scratched the back of his head. "Hey, I'm a little hungry. Could I..."

"Yeah, I'll heat up your breakfast for you." She led him into the kitchen to get his breakfast ready. "Omelette and bacon with mushrooms?"

Hikaru nodded as he sat at the breakfast counter. His stomach rumbled slightly. "I guess waking up late makes you hungry..."

Katie chuckled. "It does, doesn't it?" She placed a plate with an omelette, bacon and mushrooms on it in the microwave and set it to heat for about a minute. "So, you ready to go out?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I'm not sure... I guess so."

"Come on..." She smiled at him encouragingly. "We'll just walk down the road and back. We can even take a bus to the town centre and see if we can buy anything."

Hikaru shook his head. "I don't mind just the walk, honest." He smiled at her. "I guess just hanging out with you and Kao for a day will be good enough for me."

"That's nice." She pulled his breakfast out of the microwave and grabbed a knife and fork for him before setting everything in front of him. "Here. Eat."

Hikaru grinned before digging into his food. "Mmmm," he hummed. "This is delicious!"

"Thanks!" Katie said. "I'm pretty proud of my cooking."

Hikaru laughed. "I'm glad you are. I really like it!"

"Well, I'm glad about that!"

He laughed as he took another mouthful. "And I'm glad that you're glad."

"Good."

Hikaru continued to eat in silence. He took five minutes to stuff down the rest of the food on the plate, and grinned happily when he was done. "Finished!"

Katie laughed. "Are you still hungry?" she asked.

Hikaru shook his head. "Just thirsty." He got up from the table and picked up his plate.

"I'll get you a drink," Katie said as she took Hikaru's plate from him.

"No, no, I'm fine," Hikaru tried to convince her. "I can get my own drink and put my plate in the washer."

"No, I'll do it," Katie said. "I'm ready – you need to hurry up and get dressed."

"No, no, I'll be fine!" Hikaru took his plate back and quickly put it into the dishwasher before Katie could take it back.

Katie frowned. "Hikaru, let me get your drink for you!" She reached into one of the cupboards and grabbed a glass.

"No! I'm fine!" Hikaru reached in and ended up grabbing the same glass, his hand touching hers.

Both teenagers looked at each other before Hikaru quickly let go, his cheeks dusted a light pink. "Y-you can get the drink, then. I-I'll just wait."

Katie frowned before nodding and taking the glass out. She walked over to the fridge and poured him a glass of apple juice. "You alright?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." _No, I'm not. I just touched your hand!_

"You sure? You look pink." _Why the heck are you blushing?_

Hikaru's cheeks returned to their normal pale colour. "Really?"

Katie frowned again. "Well, not anymore." She handed Hikaru the glass. "Why did you go pink?"

He shrugged as he took the glass. "Don't know. Don't care." He took a sip of his juice.

Katie raised an eyebrow. _He obviously cares… baka…_

* * *

Kaoru sighed as he waited for Hikaru to get ready. "Come on, Hika!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hikaru called out as he raced down the stairs, pulling his hoodie on at the same time. His red hair was ruffled from having to get dressed so quickly, and he was only wearing one shoe.

Kaoru shook his head. "Hikaru, are you missing something?"

Hikaru frowned and said, "I don't think so…" before looking down and groaning. "I'll be back in a minute! I forgot my shoe!" He raced back upstairs.

Katie laughed. "Hika… sometimes I wonder whether he's even thinking half the time…"

"I heard that!" Hikaru called out as he stumbled down the stairs whilst putting a shoe on. "And I _do_ think, thank you very much!" He hopped down the rest of the way and smiled at the two who were waiting for him. "I'm ready!"

"Good!" Katie smiled back. "Do you have a coat?"

Hikaru sighed. "I'll go and get it." He trudged back up the stairs.

"You're right, Katie," Kaoru agreed. "He doesn't think."

"Hey!" Hikaru walked into his room and opened his wardrobe. He frowned as he looked through his clothes. "Hey, Kao? Where's my coat?"

Kaoru frowned. "Isn't it in your room?" he asked.

"No!" Hikaru called back. "It's not in here!"

"Have you checked under our beds?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru sighed before shutting his wardrobe and lying flat on his belly to see under the beds. "I'm checking now!" He looked under, seeing only dust and dirt. "Hey, wait…" He reached under Kaoru's bed and pulled out the coat. "I've found it Kao! It was under your bed!"

Kaoru frowned. "Why was it under there?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Hikaru brushed the dust off his coat and held it out to look at it. "What on earth did you do to this, Kao?" _It looks like it's been trampled on by elephants…_

Kaoru sighed before running up the stairs to the twins' shared room. "What do you mean?" He stared at the coat. "Oh… you stuffed that under my bed when you couldn't be asked to hang it up."

Hikaru frowned. "I don't remember that…"

"You were so tired that you were literally half-asleep."

"Oh." He put the coat on. "I guess it's still alright…"

"Good. Now come on, we need to get on our walk if we want to get back on time!" Kaoru grabbed his brother's arm and started dragging him downstairs. "Katie! We're ready!"

Katie smiled. "Finally!" She pulled on her blue hoodie and grabbed her phone from the table beside the door. "I've been waiting for _ages_!"

Hikaru laughed. "Yeah… sorry about that."

"Don't feel sorry. Just hurry up so that we can get outside. It looks like it might rain…"

* * *

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru laughed as he ran from Katie, throwing flowers at her as he did so. "What? What did I do?"

"You know what you did! Give back my phone!"

Hikaru laughed. "No! I don't have it!"

Katie stopped. "Wait, so which one of you has it?"

Kaoru grinned. "I'm glad I keep a comb on me…" He lifted the phone for Katie to see before parting his hair quickly to look like Hikaru. "I mean, you can't even tell the difference…"

"Kaoru!" Katie whined. "Give it back!"

"Not until you give back my sandwich."

"But I don't have your sandwich! Hika ate it!" She pointed at the culprit, who sat there, still eating the sandwich he had stolen from his brother.

Hikaru grinned, the sandwich still in his mouth.

Kaoru glared at him. "That was my favourite!"

"It's my favourite too."

"I don't care that it's your favourite! I was going to eat that!"

"And I'm eating it now." Hikaru grinned. "Because I like it."

Kaoru glared at him before lunging. "Gimme that!"

"No! I'm hungry!"

"I'm hungry too!"

Katie laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you behave like proper brothers before!"

Hikaru paused, and Kaoru took his chance to grab the sandwich out of Hikaru's hands. Hikaru pouted. "Hey!"

Kaoru took a bite out of the sandwich. "I said this was my sandwich, and I'm hungry. You stole it, I stole it back."

Hikaru glared at him. "Baka."

"You're baka for stealing it in the first place." Kaoru continued to eat the sandwich happily.

Hikaru huffed. "Fine then." He grabbed Katie's phone and tossed it back to her. "Katie gets her phone back.

Kaoru smirked. "Fine. It was your idea to steal it anyway."

Katie glared at Hikaru. "It was?"

Hikaru laughed nervously. "Uh… maybe…" He shrunk slightly at her glare. "Kaoru went along with it!"

"But you thought of it!" Kaoru pointed out. "I didn't have any say in that part!"

"You said it was a good idea!"

"I did not!"

"Lies, baka! You did too say that!"

"I'm not lying, Hika! Why would I lie?"

"So that Katie doesn't attack you." He glared at Kaoru. "And that's not fair!"

Kaoru stuck his tongue out at him. "Life's not fair, Hika."

Hikaru pouted and folded his arms. "You're being mean." He frowned when he felt a drop of water hit his head. "Hey…"

Kaoru frowned and looked up. "It seems as if our sunny day was short-lived…"

Katie nodded. "Maybe we should head back… we don't want to catch colds or anything."

The twins nodded and stood up, Kaoru still eating his sandwich, and the group headed back the way they had come. As they walked back along the field, Hikaru pulled his hood up as the rain began to fall harder. Kaoru's hood soon followed suit, and Katie left her hood down to let her hair soak in the rain. The group had just made it back to the main road when it began to pour buckets.

Hikaru sighed. "This is just getting worse…"

Kaoru looked up. "It looks like it might be a thunder storm coming up…"

The group jumped when they heard a clap of thunder from overhead.

"Looks like the storm's already here," Katie said as she started to walk faster through the rain.

Hikaru sped his pace up. "Stupid storm."

Kaoru sighed. "I wish I had an umbrella…" He quickly finished his sandwich. "But I didn't think to bring one," he added as he swallowed the sandwich.

"Neither did I," Hikaru said.

"You don't think, though," Katie muttered.

Hikaru pouted at her. "You didn't bring an umbrella either."

"Yeah, but I don't mind getting wet – I'm not wearing my hood."

Hikaru just stuck his tongue out at her.

Kaoru laughed. "You two can be so immature."

"Well, we're best friends," Katie pointed out. "What do you expect?"

Hikaru smiled. "Yeah, _best_ friends."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "I expect you two to act more maturely, considering you're sixteen."

"I'm seventeen in April!" Katie said happily.

Hikaru pouted. "No fair! I have to wait until June!"

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "So do I, Hika. Just learn to wait."

Hikaru pouted more. "Fine." He looked at Katie. "Will you get me a birthday present?" he asked.

"Of course!" Katie said. "Will you get me one?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yep."

The two high-fived each other as they continued to walk through the rain.

Kaoru just walked to the side and watched. _I… I feel so left out with these two…_ He frowned. _How am I going to feel if they start dating?_ He shook that thought out of his head as he continued to walk.

"Are you alright, Kao?" Hikaru asked.

Kaoru nodded. "I was just thinking, Hika," he said, automatically answering his next question. "Nothing to worry about."

Hikaru nodded, although he was still unsure. "Alright…"

Kaoru sighed. "I was thinking about the people we're going to meet tomorrow. I mean, if they're all like Katie's other friends, then we're going to either become close quickly or get thoroughly creeped out."

Hikaru nodded in agreement. "Hopefully we're going to become close quickly. I like making new friends."

Katie smiled. "Then you're going to make a lot of new friends, Hika."

"Really?"

Katie nodded. "Really."

* * *

**So... review!**


	2. Holidays Abroad Part 2

**Hey, guys! I'm guessing if you've read my other stories that you know that my laptop decided not to turn on the other day and has been sent off to get fixed. If you didn't, well, you do now! All of my other stories are having to be put on hold for a little while due to the fact that I have no access to my computer that has all of my chapters on it, but luckily for you guys I had these chapters saved online as well, so I didn't exactly lose them!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Holidays abroad part 2

Hikaru followed Katie cautiously as they walked away from the limo and towards the town centre to meet up with her friends. He had only met the four girls – the others were all boys, and he had only heard about them from the girls.

Kaoru smiled when he noticed how nervous Hikaru looked. "Excited, Hikaru?"

Hikaru jumped slightly. "Uh… I guess."

Kaoru laughed as he slung his arm over his brother's shoulder. "Or are you just nervous?"

Hikaru smiled a little and nodded. "Just nervous. I haven't really met any of them before, so…"

"They're cool," Katie explained. "Don't worry. You don't need to be scared of them or anything. They should be welcoming to you."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay, I believe you." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess I _am_ a little excited…"

"KATIE!"

Katie looked over to see a relatively large group of people, about nine of them to be exact, standing outside the now large Nando's restaurant, waving at her. She smiled and waved back. "Hey, guys!"

Hikaru smiled slightly when he recognized the five girls in the group, but frowned slightly at the four boys. "Uh… who are they?"

"Well, come on over and I'll introduce you lot." Katie led Hikaru and Kaoru over to her friends. "It's been, like, ages!"

One of the boys grinned. "I know!" He hugged Katie. "We missed you!"

Katie smiled. "I feel loved!"

Hikaru stood awkwardly to the side with Kaoru, watching Katie interact with her old friends. _They all seem to be so close…_ "Uh…"

Katie's eyes widened. "Oh, I nearly forgot! Hikaru, Kaoru, meet Isaac, Joe, Will and Eren."

Kaoru smiled and waved at them. "Hi!"

Hikaru was slightly less welcoming, especially when he saw Isaac hugging Katie so tightly… "Hi."

Isaac waved at them. "Hi!"

Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly. _I don't like this guy…_

Isaac saw this and was slightly taken aback. "Alright then…"

Katie grinned. "So, now that we've all met each other and are now all acquaintances, how about we just walk around the town for the afternoon?"

Kaoru nodded. "We can get to know each other better. I would really like to know how you all met Katie, and what you do for fun here in England. Wouldn't you, Hikaru?" He turned to his brother.

Hikaru just shrugged. "Meh." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away from the group, seeming disinterested.

Kaoru rolled his eyes at Hikaru. "You're being really stupid at the moment, Hikaru. Grow up."

Hikaru just continued to pout.

Andrea frowned. "What's up with moody ginger?" she asked.

Katie shrugged. "I don't know."

"Maybe he's jealous?" Rebecca suggested.

Katie frowned. "Of what?"

Rebecca smirked. "Never mind."

"Let's get going, then," Isaac said. "We'll probably be able to make it around the whole place before lunch, and then we can think of something to do afterwards."

The group collectively nodded, although Hikaru ignored everything Isaac had said, and they all headed off into the town centre.

* * *

Hikaru glanced over at Isaac as they both walked beside Katie, one on one side and one on the other. _Why is he walking there? Wait, why don't I want him to walk there?_ He frowned slightly. _Why do I feel like this…?_

"Hikaru?" Katie asked, looking up at him.

The redhead turned to her. "Uh, yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, perfectly fine. Honest." He gave her a small, reassuring smile as he dug his hands deeper into his pockets as he got more nervous. He wasn't exactly sure why he was getting so nervous… maybe… maybe he _did_ have a bit of a crush on her…

"Okay." Katie smiled back at him. "Where do you think we should go first?"

"Uh…" He felt himself starting to blush and turned away quickly. He desperately tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to his mind. He frowned. _I… I can't think… I can't think? I can't think!_ He felt his heart start beating faster as he felt himself losing control over his emotions and starting to panic.

Kaoru saw this and smirked slightly. "Are you alright, Hikaru?"

Hikaru's face went redder as he nodded. "I-I'm fine…"

Katie frowned. "Are you sure? You're all red—"

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped, his eyes widening slightly when he realized what he'd done. "L-let's just… walk around the town, and go into different shops," he said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Katie.

Katie nodded slowly, confused slightly.

Isaac was also confused. "Are you alright, Hikaru?" He'd been the only one of Katie's friends actually listening into the conversation.

Hikaru just glared at Isaac. "Why do you care?"

Isaac just stared at Hikaru, slightly taken aback, before glaring at him. "Alright, no need to get snappy."

Hikaru was about to bite back when he heard Kaoru's warning tone, "Hikaru…" Hikaru held his tongue and let the group continue to walk. They were going to have fun anyway… right?

* * *

Katie grinned as she grabbed another language dictionary and turned to the 69th page, searching for something to amuse herself.

The fairly large group of friends was now in WH Smith, and each of the teens had gone straight over to the books and started flicking through for awkward parts. The twins had soon become interested in what you could find on the 69th page of books, and they'd become even more interested when Eglé and Eren had found '_50 Shades of Grey_' and decided to start reading out extracts.

Kaoru nonchalantly started flicking through a book he'd found, reading various pages to see if it would interest him. Hikaru was still going through books, looking for awkward parts, when he heard talking and laughter coming from the next aisle. He frowned and walked over to the aisle, freezing at what he saw.

Katie and Isaac were laughing at something they found in the book.

Hikaru's first instinct was to scowl before growling lowly. He didn't like the way that these two were getting close…

"Hey, Hikaru," Katie smiled and turned to him.

Hikaru's face quickly smoothed out into a passive expression. "Yeah, Katie?"

"What are you doing?"

Hikaru blushed slightly. "Uh…"

"If you wanted to see the book, you could've just asked," Isaac pointed out.

"Maybe I didn't want to see the book," Hikaru answered slightly rudely. He didn't wait to see Isaac's reaction before going back to stand beside Kaoru.

Katie frowned at Hikaru's behaviour. "That's… strange…"

"That's just rude," Isaac muttered. "Not strange."

Katie shrugged. "He's just strange like that," she said. "You'll like him eventually."

"And he'll like me?"

"Unlikely, but it could happen."

Isaac just sighed. "He's such an idiot."

"Hey!" Katie glared at Isaac. "Hikaru is not an idiot! He just has very sensitive feelings, okay?" She put the book in her hands back on the shelf. "It's not his fault that he doesn't know how to act around other people."

Isaac frowned. "Why are you defending him so much?"

"Because he's one of my closest friends now, and I won't stand for anyone hurting my friends." She continued to glare at Isaac.

"Fine." He put the book back. "I think we should go somewhere else now, anyway."

Katie nodded in agreement. "Let's go… to the Town Park. We could play the Hunger Games or Truth or Dare?"

Isaac nodded. "Hey guys! We're going up to the Town Park!"

Eglé, Eren and Andrea's heads popped around the corner. "Yay!"

* * *

Hikaru sighed and walked behind the group again as they headed over to the Town Park. He slowly moved forward to walk beside Katie, his hands in his pocket, not noticing when he moved straight in between Katie and Isaac… on purpose.

Isaac glared at him. "Oi! I was talking to her!"

Hikaru shrugged. "Sorry."

Katie sighed. "Hikaru, I was talking to Isaac. Can you please move so that we can talk?"

Hikaru pouted. "But I wanted to talk to you! Why can't I talk to you?"

"Because I'm talking to Isaac! Can't you just leave us alone to talk?"

Hikaru frowned. "Why aren't you acting like my friend, Katie? You're completely ignoring me! Who cares about whatever you're talking about?"

Isaac glared at him. "I care about my new turtle!"

"Well I don't!" Hikaru started to storm off, speed walking away from the group.

Katie glared at him and chased after him, grabbing his sleeve. "Hikaru!"

"No! You're _my_ friend, Katie! What happened to being _my_ friend?"

"I'm Isaac's friend too, you know!"

"Yeah, well I don't like him! He can go and play with his turtles or whatever and leave us alone!"

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru pulled his arm out of Katie's hand and turned and ran off down the park path, towards the forest part near the end.

Katie sighed and put her head in her hands. "Kaoru, what's going on…?"

Kaoru shrugged as he watched Hikaru run. "I… I don't know… but we should follow him before he hurts himself."

Katie nodded.

"Katie!"

She spun to see her friends running towards her, Isaac and Andrea at the front of the group.

Andrea panted as she came to a stop. "Where… where's Hikaru?"

Katie looked out to the forest. "He ran off…"

Andrea nodded.

"Let's go and find him."

Will frowned. "What?"

Eglé sighed. "He's probably run into a deeper part of the forest, which could take ages to reach. That's effort."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "Why don't we just wait for him to come back?"

Kaoru just stared at them incredulously. "And what if he doesn't come back? What am I meant to do without my older brother?" He turned and ran off towards the end of the park.

"Kaoru! Wait!" Katie sighed. "I'm going to go and look for Hikaru."

"I'll come too," Andrea said. "And I think we should all go. We're his friends."

Katie smiled. "Thanks, Andrea."

Andrea just nodded. "I'll go after Kaoru. You guys look through the rest of the park."

Katie nodded and watched as Andrea raced off after Kaoru before turning to the rest of the group. "Alright, we need to split up."

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he climbed the tree and sat on one of the higher branches. He pulled his knees up to his chest and breathed deeply, trying to calm down. Why… why was he feeling like this? _The last time I felt like this was when Haruhi's friend met us… Arai…_ He put his head on his knees. _I feel… hurt… my chest hurts every time I see her with him… and I know this feeling… I've felt it before…_ His eyes widened. _I… I have a crush on her?_

"Hikaru! Hikaru!"

Hikaru looked down when he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. "K-Kaoru?"

Kaoru smiled as he looked up and saw Hikaru sitting up in the tree. "Hika!"

Hikaru smiled. "Hey, Kaoru!"

Kaoru climbed the tree quickly and sat on the branch beside his brother's. "So, what are you doing up here? What are you escaping this time?"

Hikaru just looked over at his brother and blushed slightly. "Feelings. Again."

Kaoru nodded. "What kinds of feelings?"

Hikaru paused. "Jealousy."

"Of who?"

"…Isaac. I mean… Katie's meant to be _our_ friend. Why is she hanging out and talking to him instead of us?"

"Because he's her friend too. And friends need to talk to each other. Right?"

Hikaru hesitated before nodding slowly. "Right."

"So you've got to let Katie and Isaac talk, okay?"

Hikaru nodded. "Okay."

Kaoru smiled at him. "Is there anything else, Hikaru?"

Hikaru seemed to hesitate for a little longer before whispering, "I have a crush on Katie." He blushed a bright red.

Kaoru laughed lightly. "Really?"

Hikaru frowned. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Hikaru, I knew that already!"

"Oh." If possible, Hikaru went even redder.

Kaoru laughed. "Hikaru, how could I not know? It was so obvious that—"

"_Oh, loverboy!_"

Hikaru winced. "Is that… Andrea?"

Kaoru nodded. "We're up here!" he called down.

Andrea smiled. "Come down, you two! Katie's worried sick!"

"She is?" Hikaru blushed. "I… I'll go and apologise for making her worried," he muttered before climbing down.

Kaoru just stared after him before climbing down himself. "Hikaru!"

Andrea just stared at how willing Hikaru was to climb down. "H-Hikaru? What's going on?"

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I… I need to apologise to Katie."

Andrea just stared at him. "Hey, are you alright?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'm fine. Just…" He thought about it. "I want to do something fun with you guys… more fun than playing at the park."

Andrea nodded. "How about ice skating?"

Hikaru smiled. "Sounds awesome!"

* * *

"I don't like this."

Kaoru sighed as he watched his brother stand as the edge of the ice rink, watching other people ice skate. More specifically, Katie and Isaac, who seemed to be having a lot of fun skating together. "Hikaru, what are you doing?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I… I don't know…"

"Then go out and skate."

He shook his head. "I don't want to."

Kaoru frowned. "This isn't because of Katie and Isaac?"

Hikaru blushed slightly. "M-maybe…"

Kaoru sighed. "Hika…"

"Hey."

The twins looked up to see a tall dark haired boy skating towards them with a smile on his face. Kaoru smiled back and waved slightly.

"Hey, Eren," Hikaru greeted him as he skated over.

"Hey, why aren't you skating?" Eren asked, curious.

"We don't feel like it," Hikaru said.

"I don't know about you, but I do," Kaoru muttered.

Eren frowned. "Why don't you feel like skating? It's fun, Hikaru!"

Hikaru just shrugged.

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "It's because of Isaac."

Hikaru glared at his brother. "Kaoru!"

Eren frowned. "What about Isaac? He's cool. I mean, he likes turtles, and he has a dog and a cat and he's friendly too…"

"He's jealous of Isaac," Kaoru explained. "Just because he hangs around with Katie."

"Kao!"

Eren frowned, and then smirked. "So Andrea was right!"

"Right?" Hikaru frowned. "About what?"

"You _do_ have a crush on Katie!" Eren grinned.

Hikaru blushed. "W-w-well…"

Kaoru grinned. "I see where this is going. I'll be going now…" He pushed himself off the wall of the rink. "See ya!"

Hikaru watched as his brother skated off. "Kao…"

"So, do you have a crush on Katie?" Eren asked, smirking.

Hikaru blushed before nodding slightly. "I… I think I do…"

Eren smiled. "That's nice. You should tell her."

"What? No!" He lowered his eyes. "Besides, she and Isaac seem to like each other a lot…" He looked wistfully over at where the pair seemed to be laughing and smiling at each other, pushing each other playfully.

Eren smirked. "They're just friends. They don't like each other in that way."

Hikaru frowned. "They don't?"

Eren shook his head. "Isaac's just a flirt. It's pretty funny, because he fails at it."

Hikaru grinned. "He does?"

"Yeah…" Eren looked over at Isaac and Katie. "You should talk to him. Isaac thinks you hate him."

"Really?" Hikaru frowned. "Now that I think about it… I don't really hate him…"

Eren smiled. "Really? You can talk to him now! I'll go and get him!" He skated off quickly before Hikaru could object.

"H-h-hey! Wait!" Hikaru frowned at him as he skated off. He didn't want to talk to Isaac _now_… He just waited patiently at the side, waiting for Isaac to skate over. Besides, there was nothing he could do now…

As he waited for Isaac to come over, he noticed some of the girls skating on the far side of the ice rink. He smiled slightly as they laughed and smiled, but frowned when he noticed a group of larger boys skating over to them and starting to push them around. "Hey…"

"_Hey! Leave them alone!_"

Hikaru smiled when he noticed Kaoru skate over.

"_You don't go around pushing women like that! It's just rude! Leave them alone!_"

Hikaru just leaned back against the wall. _Kao seems to handle these things pretty well… his independence is growing…_

* * *

"He wants to what?"

Eren grinned. "He wants to talk to you. Like other humans do."

Isaac rolled his eyes at Eren. "You're really annoying, you know that?" He glared slightly at Eren before skating over to the redhead. "Hey, Hikaru. You wanted to talk to me?"

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh… actually, Eren wanted me to talk to you."

Isaac frowned. "Really?" He leaned against the glass as well. "What about?"

"Uh…" Hikaru took a deep breath. _How am I meant to say this…_ "About you and Katie…"

Isaac frowned. "Whatever he says, I do not have a crush on her. We're just friends – very close friends. We've been friends for years. It would just be really awkward."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay… I get that." He smiled. "I just… never knew friends could be this close. I've never really had friends. The longest I've had friends for is two years. Kaoru doesn't count because he's my brother."

Isaac nodded. "Well, we could talk about this in the café?"

Hikaru nodded and followed Isaac out of the rink to the café.

"So, why do you care so much about Katie?" Isaac asked as he walked into the café. "Do you have a crush on her?"

Hikaru blushed. "Yeah…"

Isaac grinned. "Katie's cool. She likes manga and anime and being very annoying…"

Hikaru smiled as they sat at the bar of the café. "Yeah, she does…"

Isaac nodded. The pair was silent for a little while before Isaac decided to speak up again. "I thought you hated me?"

"Huh?" Hikaru frowned slightly before he realized what Isaac had been talking about. "Oh! I never hated you! I was just… a bit jealous."

"Of me?" Isaac laughed slightly. "I bet if you really knew me you wouldn't say that."

"Your life can't be that bad compared to mine…" Hikaru said, actually interested about what he had to say.

"I only get Cs in my exams," Isaac told him. "The highest I've gotten in an exam is a B, I have a really annoying younger sister, and I have the weirdest, most perverted friends this world has ever known. And they get really annoying…"

Hikaru laughed. "Yeah, well, I've got a really annoying younger twin brother who thinks it's his duty to set me up on dates with girls I like. My grades aren't that bad, but Katie's are slightly better." He thought about it. "And I think I have a very weird group of friends…"

Isaac laughed. "Everyone has their quirks."

Hikaru nodded. "Uh-huh."

Kaoru popped his head into the café, smiling. "Hey, Hika?"

Hikaru looked over to the door, where his brother had just looked inside the room. "Yeah, Kao?"

"I'm going to the men's room. Don't worry about me, okay?"

Hikaru grimaced. "Ewww! Too much info, Kao!"

Kaoru just laughed. "Hika, stop being so childish!"

"Just go!"

"Fine!" He quickly left the room.

Isaac rolled his eyes at their behavour. "He's really clingy, isn't he?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Well, I would've gotten worried if he hadn't told me… besides, Kaoru's just Kaoru. He has his quirks."

Isaac smiled. "I guess he would… so, you want anything?"

"Just a drink. I'm feeling thirsty."

"But you barely skated."

"So? I'm thirsty."

Isaac smiled. "Coke?"

"Sure, why not."

* * *

Kaoru gave a relieved sigh and smiled as he walked out of the toilets and washed his hands. Boy, he really needed to go. And now he felt so much better. As he walked out of the main toilets and into the changing rooms, he frowned. The door into the changing room was open. _I don't remember leaving that open…_

He froze when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey, Ginge!"

He turned around to see the group of boys he'd pushed away earlier. He gulped. They all of a sudden looked so much… bigger than they had before… "M-my n-name's Kaoru,"

The leader of the group grinned. "You ready for a bit of fun, then, _Kaoru_?"

Kaoru just stared at them, scared. _Oh no…_

* * *

Katie laughed as she watched Andrea and Eglé fell over on the ice, laughing their heads off. Will and Joe stood off to the side, laughing at the girls' stupidity. Eren skated over to the girls and fell over them, sending the group into another fit of giggles.

"Hey… where's Kaoru?" Will asked.

"He went to the toilet," Eren explained. "Although that was about fifteen minutes ago…"

"I'll go and look for him," Katie said, turning to skate to the edge of the rink.

"I'll come with you," Andrea said as she got up.

"Me too," Eren said as he followed Katie.

Katie nodded, and waited for the two to get up before they skated out of the rink and walked to the changing rooms. The three of them frowned when they noticed a group of boys walking out of the changing rooms and over to the skating rink. Katie's frown deepened when she noticed blood on one of their skates. "Did you see…?"

"The blood?" Andrea asked. "Yeah, but none of those boys are bleeding…"

Eren frowned. "And those boys came out of the changing rooms… the toilets are through the changing rooms…"

Katie's eyes widened. "Crap! Kaoru!"

The trio ran in their skates into the changing rooms and froze at what they saw.

Kaoru lay on the floor in the fetal position, his eyes closed as he was unconscious. He had a bruise on his forehead, and his lip was split on the right side of his face, which had turned a very pale colour. His breathing was shallow, as if it hurt to do so, and there was blood leaking from an area around his lower legs.

Katie screamed. "Oh my god!"

Eren stared in shock. "Holy shit…"

Andrea's mind ran into overdrive. "He's pale… breathing… probably unconscious… and bleeding…" She ran over to him and checked his pulse. "It's quite slow…" She turned to Eren. "We need to alert a member of staff, now!"

Eren nodded and ran off, pulling out his phone to call an ambulance.

Katie neared Andrea. "Is… is he going to be okay?"

Andrea nodded. "He should be. But the bleeding is coming from his leg, Katie… I need to know where it's coming from exactly. If it's coming from his thigh…"

Katie knelt down to help.

"No, go and alert the guys," Andrea commanded. "I'll be fine."

Katie nodded before jumping up and running off to alert the others.

Andrea hesitated slightly and took a deep breath before moving Kaoru's leg. Her eyes widened. "Oh boy…"

* * *

Katie was breathing heavily by the time she got back to the ice. She noticed the group of boys from the changing rooms at the far end of the ice, but she ignored them for that moment. "Guys!" she called out as she skated over to her friends.

Rebecca looked over. "What's wrong?"

"It's… Kaoru…" Katie gasped as she skated over. "He's… hurt!"

"He's what?!" The group immediately skated off the ice and to the changing rooms, in a hurry to see what was happening. As they did so, they bumped into Eren and the emergency first aid staff.

"What happened?" Rebecca demanded. "What's going on?"

"Something happened to Kaoru in the changing rooms!" Eren explained.

Mukta gasped. "What exactly happened?"

"He got attacked!"

The group froze for a couple of moments.

"What's Hikaru going to say?" Eglé asked.

Katie's eyes widened. "Crap!" She turned and ran over to the café. "We forgot about Hikaru!"

* * *

Hikaru laughed. "She actually did that?"

Isaac nodded. "Yeah! She poked herself in the eye when she was calling herself a genius!"

"What a baka!"

"I know!"

"Maybe we should—"

"Hikaru!" Katie ran into the café, breathing heavily.

Hikaru smiled at Katie as she ran over to them. "Hey, Katie! We were just talking about y—"

"It's Kaoru!" She interrupted with a rush. "He's been hurt!"

Isaac watched as Hikaru's face darkened. "How badly?"

"Really badly. Andrea says he's unconscious!"

"What happened?"

"He… he was attacked!"

Hikaru jumped out of his seat. "Where is he?"

"The changing rooms. The emergency staff is already there, and I think they've called an ambulance!"

Hikaru raced to the changing rooms, ignoring the fact that he'd just left Katie and Isaac behind in the café. _My little brother…_ He pushed through the large crowd that had gathered there. "Kaoru! Kaoru!"

Some of the people pushed him back. "Hey!"

"Wait your turn!"

"Get back in line!"

Hikaru ignored them and continued to push his way forward until one of the security guards stopped him… right where the crowd stopped. "Hey! Let me through!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't—"

"He's my brother!" Tears threatened to fall from Hikaru's eyes. "Let me through!"

The guard narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to see some ID—"

"ID? ID?!" Hikaru was furious as tears spilled down his face. "Isn't my face enough of an ID?" He pushed forcefully past the guard and was relieved when he saw Andrea. "Andrea!"

Andrea looked over at him. "Hikaru!"

Hikaru ran over. "What… what happened?"

"He was attacked by some guys. We think they're on the ice now."

Hikaru knelt down beside them. "Kao…" He reached out and touched his brother's pale face. His face hardened. "Did you say those idiots were on the ice?"

Andrea nodded. "Yeah."

Hikaru jumped up and pushed his way back through the crowd. Those boys would pay…

* * *

The group of boys laughed as they continued to skate on the ice, terrorizing other groups of people skating on the rink. "Haha!"

The leader of the group grinned. "We done good, innit?"

One of the other boys laughed. "Yeah, beat that little ginge to a pulp."

Another of the boys grinned. "You see him when he was curled up on the floor? Little piece of shit, he was."

The group laughed.

Hikaru was determined to make those boys pay as soon as he saw the extent of Kaoru's injuries. The ambulance was on its way, and the first aid staff would be unable to find anything too life-threatening until Kaoru woke up. The only serious things they had found so far were the seriously broken leg and the bruises on his chest, which in turn led to the fact that he was finding it quite difficult to breathe. Unfortunately, the breathing problem was one of the problems that couldn't be solved until he woke up.

Hikaru stormed over to the group of boys. "Hey!"

The group turned.

One of the boys frowned. "He… he's awake?"

Another frowned also. "Without a scratch? What the hell?"

Some of the others in the group started backing away from him slowly.

Hikaru skated straight over to the leader of the group. "Who do you think you are?"

The leader's eyes widened slightly before he snarled. "You're meant to be injured, you ginger piece of shit."

"Well, obviously I'm not."

"Then you got guts comin' over here, ginge. Shame you'll be leavin without a face."

That's when Hikaru lost it. He clenched his fist and swung it before he could even think about what he was doing, hearing a satisfying crunch as it collided with the leader of the group's nose.

The leader fell back, sliding across the ice from the force of the punch and hitting his head on the rink wall.

Hikaru skated up to him and grabbed him by the shirt. "Don't ever mess with my brother again, otherwise you'll get worse than this, and I won't be the only one to give it to you. Understood?"

"B-brother?" The leader's eyes widened.

Hikaru snarled. "Understood?"

The leader nodded quickly.

"What was that?"

"Y-yes sir!"

Hikaru gave him a small, sinister smile as he let go of his shirt and skated away. He felt slightly better for avenging Kaoru but… his little brother was still hurt…

As he left the ice, he noticed a stretcher being carried out of the changing rooms and gave a small gasp of surprise when his eyes met a pair identical to his. "Kaoru!" He ran over to the stretcher.

Kaoru gave his brother a weak smile. "Hika…" he managed to croak out. Since waking up, he hadn't really spoken much.

Hikaru ran a hand softly over his brother's face, avoiding the bruise on his forehead and the split lip. "Kao…" Tears threatened to leave his eyes.

"I… I'll be alright… Hikaru…" Kaoru managed to say slowly.

Hikaru frowned. "Kaoru, you're slurring."

"Huh?" Kaoru frowned slightly before wincing. "My… my head… it hurts…"

"Nurse, we're going to need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible!"

"Right, load him into the ambulance a.s.a.p.!"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Is something wrong?"

Kaoru's eyes widened also. "Hika… what's happening? What's… going on?"

"I don't know…" He took Kaoru's hand in his to calm him down slightly. "But I think we're going to the hospital now."

"But… I… I'm scared, Hika…" Tears started to flow down Kaoru's cheeks as he looked up helplessly at his brother. His legs had been secured down to the stretcher, making him seem even more helpless than he already was.

Hikaru just watched his brother helplessly. _I… I don't know what to do, Kao…_

One of the EMTs saw this and walked over to Hikaru. "Do you want to join us in an ambulance and hold your brother's hand on the way?" she asked.

Hikaru looked slightly startled, but nodded. He didn't think anyone had noticed how helpless he felt…

The EMT smiled. "Don't worry – we won't bite."

Hikaru gave her a small smile.

"Ambulance is here!"

"Let's get him moving!"

Kaoru looked up at his brother. "H… Hika…?"

"I'm here," Hikaru said softly, squeezing his brother's hand reassuringly.

"Don't leave me, Hika…"

"I promise, I won't." He smiled down at his brother reassuringly.

Kaoru gave a small smile back before he went back to frowning and wincing. "My head…"

Hikaru watched his brother worriedly as he followed the stretcher out of the skating rink and into the ambulance, clutching the younger twin's hand the whole way as if it was the only way to keep him alive. As they climbed into the ambulance, he took one last glance back and caught Katie's eye. He gave her a small, brave smile, even though his eyes betrayed his worry for Kaoru.

Katie smiled back and gave a small wave as the twins got into the ambulance with the emergency crew and closed the door behind them. As soon as the ambulance had driven off, the smile left her face and was replaced with worry. "We need to get to the hospital."

Andrea nodded and noticed the twins' car waiting off to the side. "Does their chauffeur know you?"

Katie noticed the car and nodded. "I'm staying at their place."

"Then let's go."

* * *

**Review, please!**


	3. Holidays Abroad Part 3

**Hey, readers! I have your next episode for you! Enjoy it!**

* * *

Holidays abroad part 3

Katie ran ahead of the group as soon as the car pulled up outside the A&E department of the hospital and the doors opened. She ran into the waiting rooms, her eyes darting around before she spotted a familiar redheaded boy sitting in one of the plastic chairs, staring at the doors that led into the patients' rooms and the operating theatres. "Hikaru!"

Hikaru didn't move, his eyes fixed on the door. He'd heard Katie call out his name, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He felt as if it would be betraying Kaoru by looking away. He continued to stare at the door.

Katie ran over to him and pulled him into a hug. "How is he?"

Hikaru pointed at the door. He couldn't bring himself to talk. He felt as if opening his mouth would lead to a river of tears. Any words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

Katie looked over at the door before turning back to Hikaru and nodding. "He's through there, getting operated on?"

Hikaru nodded numbly.

Katie smiled and sat beside him. "How was he?"

Hikaru just stayed silent. He just couldn't.

Katie took his silence as unwillingness and pulled away from him, sitting beside him instead. "Okay."

The rest of the group ran into the hospital waiting room, a lot slower than Katie had. They ran straight up to the receptionist's desk, unlike Katie had, and asked about Kaoru.

"Who?" the receptionist asked them.

"Kaoru Hitachiin! Red hair, amber eyes, brought in with a broken leg?" Andrea said.

The receptionist looked through the records. "Uh… oh, yes! He's currently in surgery."

"Is he alright?" Rebecca asked.

The receptionist gave her a look. "He's in surgery."

"…Oh."

Andrea smiled at the receptionist. "Thank you for the information!"

The receptionist nodded.

The group walked away from the desk.

"He's still in surgery?" Isaac said. "How could he still be in surgery?"

"His leg was really badly broken," Andrea answered. "It was a clean break, but there were still some chipped parts. Not only that, but they have to check his ribs as well. They're probably cracked."

Eren winced. "Poor Kaoru."

"I hope he gets better…" Eglé said.

Andrea stood near the middle of the group, thinking.

Will frowned at her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "It better not be anything stupid or perverted."

"It's not," Andrea muttered. "I'm just thinking… when Kaoru woke up…" She frowned. "The bruise on his forehead… and he said his head hurt…"

Rebecca frowned. "What are you thinking?"

Andrea's eyes widened slightly. "And they already know…"

"Know what?"

"Kaoru… Kaoru has a concussion."

The group's eyes widened. "What?"

Andrea nodded. "Headaches are a common symptom of concussions…" She winced. "And concussions can take days to go away…"

* * *

Hikaru continued to stare at the door. He knew Katie was sitting next to him, but… "He was sick," he muttered suddenly.

Katie frowned and turned to him. "What?"

"Kaoru… he was sick in the ambulance… all the way here…" Hikaru's voice was shaky. "He… he just couldn't stop… and his head… he kept complaining that it hurt…" His hands started to shake. "It… it scared me…" Tears formed in his eyes. "Katie, I didn't know what to do! I was so scared! And… and I'd never seen Kaoru like that before! Every time Kao was ill… I was always kept in a different room… I've never seen Kaoru look so… fragile…" He burst into tears.

Katie pulled him into a hug and started rubbing his back soothingly. "Shhh, Hikaru. He'll be alright…"

Hikaru clutched Katie's sleeves as he cried into her t-shirt. "K… K… Kao…"

"Shhh…"

Hikaru sniffed as he pulled away from her. "S-s-sorry a-about y-y-y-y-your shirt…" he muttered, embarrassed.

Katie smiled at him. "It's fine, Hika." She pulled her sleeve down slightly and used it to wipe any remaining tears off his face.

Hikaru gave a watery smile. "Thank you, Katie." He looked directly into her eyes.

Katie smiled back at him and put a hand on his cheek. "Well, I think you needed to let that out. Sometimes a person just needs to vent."

Hikaru gave her a soft smile. "Yeah…"

The two didn't notice how closely they were leaning into each other until they heard someone clear their throat beside them. They both pulled away, blushing.

"Family of Kaoru Hitachiin?" the doctor asked. She was young, maybe in her late twenties or so, with dark hair and dark eyes that matched her naturally tanned skin.

Hikaru stood up and wiped any remaining tears from his face. "Yeah?"

The doctor smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Doctor Blake, and I'll be monitoring your brother for his stay."

Hikaru hesitated before shaking her hand. "How… how is he?"

Dr Blake smiled. "Well, let's walk and talk, shall we? You must be anxious to see your brother."

Hikaru's eyes widened. "How do you…?"

"We managed to get a-hold of your medical records," she explained as she led him away from Katie. "You're from Tokyo, Japan, am I correct?"

Hikaru nodded.

The doctor smiled. "That's a very nice place. I've been there before."

_I don't really care…_ Hikaru thought. "Yeah…"

"Now, your brother… we had a couple of… complications with him."

Hikaru's eyes widened. "What do you mean by complications?"

Dr Blake sighed as she led him through the door that led them to the patients' rooms. "Mr Hitachiin, your brother has a concussion. This meant that it would be too risky to put him under a general anaesthetic, so we had to keep him sedated instead. His leg has been operated on, and he should be back to walking in about eight weeks or so. He has a couple of cracked ribs, likely from being kicked so hard, and the amount of blood loss he suffered has made him a lot weaker than he should be. The concussion also seems to be causing problems. The EMTs said he was vomiting violently all the way here?"

Hikaru nodded. "And he kept complaining that his head hurt."

"Side effects of the concussion. He should be feeling a little better within a couple of hours or so, but we'll need to keep him monitored here for a couple of days."

Hikaru looked slightly put out, but nodded. _It's to help Kao get better._ "Can… can I see him?"

"Of course, but he may be a little unresponsive due to the sedation."

Hikaru nodded before realizing they were stood outside the door to one of the rooms. "Is this his room?"

"Yes."

Hikaru gave the doctor a small smile. "Thank you." He opened the door quietly. "Hey, Kao…"

* * *

Katie just stared in the direction Hikaru and the doctor had gone. _We were so close… why did I want to do it? Why do I feel so rejected?_

"Ginge?"

Katie looked up to see Andrea standing there with Rebecca, Eglé and Mukta. She smiled at the old nickname. "Hey." She smiled as the boys joined afterwards.

"You alright?" Rebecca asked, taking the seat that Hikaru had.

Katie shook her head. "I'm worried… for Kaoru…"

The group nodded.

"We can tell," Mukta said.

"He'll be fine," Eglé said. "He's a ginger, right? And gingers are tough."

The group laughed.

Katie smiled. "Yeah, I guess they are." She smiled sadly. "It's just… Hikaru…"

"He's just worried," Andrea said. "He's extremely terrified for his brother. He's never had to go through this before."

Katie nodded. "I know." She sniffled. "It's just… it's so scary…"

Rebecca pulled her best friend into a hug. "Don't worry, Katie. Kaoru will be fine, Hikaru will be fine, everyone is going to be perfectly fine."

Katie nodded as she leant into the hug. "I'm just really scared for Kao… I don't think he's ever been attacked before."

Eren frowned as he thought. "Am I the only person who recognized those boys who attacked Kaoru?"

Eglé frowned. "Yeah… that leader guy looked familiar…"

Mukta snapped her fingers. "It was Kevin!"

Katie frowned. "Who's Kevin?"

"The most idiotic, no good bastard we have ever met," Isaac growled. "I'm surprised he made it into college."

Andrea snorted. "I'm surprised he even got out of primary school. He's such a twat."

Eren's fists clenched. "I'm really in the mood to hurt that boy. And his twatty friends."

Joe nodded. "Those bastards are so evil…"

"They should die," Eglé suggested. "Slowly. And painfully."

"Like shotgunning them in the stomach," Will suggested. "I heard that's really painful."

"We could set them on fire," Andrea said. "Letting them suffer in agony."

"We can starve them," Joe said.

"Or just set them all on fire and shotgun the leader," Rebecca said, grinning.

Mukta grinned. "They would suffer for hours in fire…"

Katie just listened quietly to all of their ideas. _Gods, my biffles can be really sinister sometimes…_

"Human centipede," Eren said, causing everyone to gasp and stare at him in horror.

"Omg," Andrea muttered.

"That's just sick," Eglé said, shaking her head.

Eren grinned. "Yep."

Katie smirked. "We shall avenge Kaoru. All of us."

"We can beat the crap out of them," Will suggested.

"Or, we can make a human centipede out of them," Eglé said.

Katie paled. "That's just… sick… so sick…"

Rebecca nodded in agreement, also pale.

"Either way, we'll destroy them," Isaac said.

"Yeah."

"Death to the twats."

* * *

Kaoru took deep breaths to keep down the vomit that was threatening to surface. "Hika… I don't… feel good…"

Hikaru rubbed his brother's back soothingly, hoping to keep him calm. To see his brother going through this pain caused him pain as well. "It's okay, Kao."

Kaoru squeezed his eyes shut. The slurring had reduced significantly, but he still felt nauseous, and the headache was still persistent. His thoughts were still a little slow as well. He brought his hand up to his mouth as his face turned a pale green colour. "Hika… I think I'm going to be sick…"

Hikaru quickly grabbed the bucket from beside the bed and held it close to his brother's face. "Are you sure?"

Kaoru leaned over and threw up into the bucket, his body shaking slightly from the continuous retching. He felt beads of sweat running down his face and whimpered slightly. He hated feeling like this.

Hikaru reached over and grabbed a flannel before wiping his brother's face. He was glad the sedation had worn off, but Kaoru still felt ill… "You're gonna be fine, Kao. It's okay."

Kaoru looked up at his brother. "Hika… I just want to sleep…"

"The nurses said you couldn't sleep yet, Kao. Just a couple more hours to make sure the swelling goes down."

Kaoru pouted before leaning into the bucket and throwing up again. "Uhhh…" he groaned. He gripped his stomach in pain.

Hikaru just rubbed his brother's back. "It's alright, Kaoru."

"I've been sick… for two hours… not including the ambulance…"

Hikaru winced. The ambulance _had_ been bad… "I know, Kao. I've been here almost the whole time." He grabbed the ice pack on the side table and put it carefully to his brother's forehead. "But the doctors say you'll be fine after a few days' rest."

"O…okay…" Kaoru moved away from the bucket and lay back on the bed, his eyes tightly closed. "I really want to sleep," he muttered as he snuggled into the crisp, clean hospital bed sheets.

Hikaru sighed. "You can't sleep, Kao. Not just yet." He sighed. "I can't even let you play any thinking games..."

Kaoru pouted. "I'm so bored that I want to sleep."

Hikaru sighed. "I'm sorry, Kao. About everything."

Kaoru frowned. "Why? What did you do?"

"It was my fault that you got hurt. If only I'd been there... I should've gone with you..."

Kaoru let out a light laugh. "That would've been awkward."

Hikaru frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If you'd gone to the toilet with me, people would've thought it as weird. We're both about five foot eleven now, both nearly seventeen. Going to the toilet together would just be considered strange."

Hikaru sighed. "That's a good point." He pouted. "But, I still feel guilty..."

There was a knock on the door, and not long afterwards Dr Blake walked in with Katie and the group. They smiled at Kaoru.

Kaoru smiled back at them. "Hey, guys."

Katie walked up to the bed. "Hey, Kao. How do you feel?"

"A little nauseous, and I have a headache, but I'll be alright." He took a deep breath and attempted to sit up properly.

Hikaru pushed him back down. "You might hurt your leg. Stop moving."

Kaoru pouted, but did as he was told. He sat boredly.

"So, you ready to go, Hikaru?" Katie asked. "We have to go out. We had a table reserved for us at King Du."

Hikaru pouted. "Do we have to leave?"

"Yeah. And we need to head back to the skating rink first."

"Why?" Hikaru asked, curious. "Didn't you bring all of our things?"

"We did, but we need to give a statement about the fight... or the attack." She looked at Kaoru. "The police said they'd come to visit you in hospital afterwards."

Kaoru nodded, but regretted it when he felt his headache get worse. He groaned slightly. "Ow…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Kao, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, just go…" He went slightly green. "Oh no…"

Hikaru sighed. "See? I told you not to move!" He grabbed the bucket again.

Kaoru leaned over and was sick into the bucket. "Uhhh…" He closed his eyes tightly as he felt another wave of nausea. "I hate being sick…"

Katie sighed. "I guess we're not leaving now, then."

"Why don't we ask them to come down here, then?" Andrea suggested. "I mean, going back to the rink is effort…"

"And we already have all of our stuff," Eren pointed out. "Plus, Hikaru can't leave Kaoru now."

Kaoru vomited into the bucket again, grabbing the sides of it to hold himself up. _I'm feeling so weak…_ His hands slipped and he would've fallen into the bucket had Hikaru not caught him in time. "…Can… can I sleep yet?"

Dr Blake smiled. "Well, let's just check your vitals first. How long since you hit your head?"

Kaoru thought about it, wincing at the headache that came along with it. "I think it's been around three hours…"

Dr Blake nodded. "Let's give you another MRI scan to check on how your brain is doing before we consider letting you sleep."

"Okay." Kaoru watched as he was unhooked from all the different machines before being wheeled out of the room.

Hikaru smiled reassuringly at his brother. "I'll be here when you get back. Don't worry."

Kaoru smiled. "Okay. See you guys later!" He was wheeled out of the room by the young female doctor.

As soon as he left, Andrea pulled out her phone and made a call to the police officer that had originally decided to conduct the interviews. "Hello… hello, officer… yeah…" She walked away from the group as she continued to have the conversation.

Katie looked over at Hikaru. "Is he feeling worse?"

Hikaru nodded. "He just wants to sleep. He's so tired… the pain has really taken its toll on him."

"Ah."

Eren, Eglé, Mukta and Isaac all stood in one corner, talking as a small group, whilst Rebecca, Joe and Will started a conversation with Katie and Hikaru.

"What should we do?" Mukta asked. "That idiot needs to pay for what he did."

Eren thought about it. "Last I saw of him, some paramedics were cleaning up his nose. I think Hikaru smashed his fist into it."

Eglé smirked. "That's brilliant. So we don't need to break it, then."

"No, we just need to break every other bone," Isaac said.

Eren thought about it. "His stupid gang always hangs out at the town park…"

"Then we'll take Hikaru there tomorrow," Isaac said. "And we can all beat him up."

"But then the police could get involved…" Mukta said. "And that would mean Andrea and Rebecca won't join in."

"Let's just do it anyway. If they don't want to join in, they can stand off to the side."

The small group nodded. "Deal."

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he stood in the corridor, leaning outside the MRI scanning room as he waited for Kaoru and Dr Blake to come out. They'd been in there for a little while now, and he really wanted to speak to Kaoru before he fell asleep. Or at least before the officer got here.

About ten minutes later, the door opened and Kaoru was wheeled out into the corridor. Dr Blake smiled when she saw Hikaru standing there.

"Waiting for your brother, huh?"

Hikaru nodded. "Is he alright?"

"Swelling has gone down significantly over the past two hours, so we have allowed him to sleep." She motioned over to the redheaded twin, who had fallen asleep on the hospital bed.

Hikaru smiled at the sleeping twin. "He couldn't wait to get back to his room, could he?"

Dr Blake laughed. "No, he couldn't. We'll have to wake him up every couple of hours, though, just to give him a check up."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay. It's just that the officer will be arriving to talk to us all and get statements on what happened. He'll need to talk to Kaoru."

Dr Blake nodded. "Just wake him up, and tell one of the nurses to alert me." She started pushing the bed back into Kaoru's room.

Hikaru followed her, hands in his pocket. It was nice to finally have Kaoru resting, after everything he'd been through. He shoved his hands further into his pockets and walked into Kaoru's room behind the doctor and the bed. He frowned when he realized Andrea and Katie were gone. "Where are Andrea and Katie?"

"They went to collect our food," Rebecca explained. "We couldn't keep our reservations, so we decided to order take away instead."

"Ah." Hikaru sat on the last plastic chair left in the room and leaned back into it, sighing.

Eren looked over at the bed. "So Kaoru is finally asleep?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah…" He smiled. "He looked so exhausted. He needs to sleep."

Dr Blake hooked him up to all of the monitors. "Don't forget to alert me when you wake him up, Mr Hitachiin."

Hikaru nodded and watched as the doctor left the room. He ran a hand over his tired face. "Gosh, it's been a tiring day…"

Eren looked over at Eglé and Isaac, and they nodded. "Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked over at him. "Yeah, Eren?"

"Uh…" He looked over at Eglé and Isaac before turning back to Hikaru. "Do you want to go to the town park with us tomorrow?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, but shook his head. "No thank you. I think I'd had enough of outings for now…"

"Oh, come on!" Eglé urged him. "It'll be fun! We're just going to hang out, probably play some truth or dare."

Hikaru contemplated it. "But what about Kaoru…?"

"We can take photos for him," Isaac said. "Andrea almost always takes photos."

Hikaru thought for a little while longer. "Well…" He nodded. "Alright. I'll come with you."

"Yay!"

Katie and Andrea walked into the room, holding a few plastic bags filled with take away bowls and bottles of fizzy drinks. "We're back!"

Katie smiled when she saw Kaoru sleeping peacefully on the bed. "He was finally allowed to fall asleep?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah."

Andrea smiled. "So the swelling in his brain has gone down?"

"Significantly."

"Good." She opened up on of the bags and started handing out everyone's food.

Hikaru turned away his food. "Not very hungry."

Katie frowned. "Hika, you have to eat. You haven't eaten all day."

Hikaru shrugged. "I'm not in the mood."

"Eat. Now." Katie dropped his bowl of food on his lap. "And then you can rest."

Hikaru sighed before nodding. "Fine." He gave her a small smile. "Bon appétit."

* * *

_Kaoru… Kaoru… Kaoru…!_ Hikaru gasped as he sat up in bed, coming out of a nightmare. He brought up a hand and wiped away tears that had formed in his eyes. He looked across the dark room over to Kaoru's bed… only to find it empty. He whimpered a little before remembering the Kaoru was still in hospital. He took deep breaths to calm himself down as he thought back over the nightmare.

Ever since Kaoru had told about what exactly had happened with the boys who had attacked him, Hikaru hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. The way that they cornered him, before pushing him harshly into the lockers and punching him repeatedly, and then letting him fall to the floor. And then kicking him in the chest repeatedly as the leader crushed his leg with his skates. This had led to the nightmare of watching his brother attacked himself, and then left to die as he was unconscious.

He rubbed a tired hand over his face. He was sweaty from the nightmare, which in turn was making him feel quite chilly. He got up and went into the bathroom, having a quick shower before returning to his bed. He looked over at the clock. _2 a.m._ He turned over and closed his eyes, but he felt scared. He felt… alone. He'd never felt so alone in his life…

He wiped a stray tear from his face before sitting up and pushing back the covers, climbing out of bed and walking out of his and Kaoru's room. He headed down the corridor and knocked on one of the doors before walking in. "Katie…?"

The redheaded girl turned over in her bed to face the door. "…Huh…?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Hikaru…?" she asked in a sleepy voice. "What… what are you doing in here?"

Hikaru looked down to the floor, a bit nervous. "I… I felt lonely in my room… and I couldn't sleep…"

Katie frowned. "You can't sleep?"

Hikaru shook his head.

Katie sighed as she scooted over on the double bed. "You can come and sleep next to me, then."

Hikaru frowned slightly. "Are you sure…?"

"Yes. Now come and lie down before I change my mind."

Hikaru quickly walked over to the bed and climbed in beside Katie. "I... I had a nightmare too..." he admitted quietly, curling up on the bed.

Katie gave him a soft smile. "Well, how about you sleep here tonight? Then you won't have any nightmares."

Hikaru nodded and closed his eyes as he lay his head down on the spare pillow. "Katie?"

"Hmmm?" Katie looked over at him as she lay down.

"Thanks." He closed his eyes as he fell asleep.

Katie gave him a small smile as he drifted into a peaceful sleep and stroked his cheek softly with her thumb. "You're welcome, Hikaru. Good night."

**Review, please?**


	4. Holidays Abroad Part 4

**Hey, readers! Here's the next episode! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Holidays abroad part 4

When Hikaru and Katie woke up at the exact same time the next morning, they happened to find themselves in the most awkward position.

With their arms wrapped around each other.

Katie had her head against Hikaru's smooth chest, her arms against it with her palms on his bare chest and her hair spread wildly against the pillow. Hikaru had his arms wrapped around Katie's waist, his fingers interlocking at the back, with his head resting on hers and her hair tickling his nose and cheeks.

The pair blushed at their closeness, especially as Hikaru wasn't wearing a pyjama shirt, before pushing each other away. Hikaru yelped as he realized too late that he was right at the edge of the bed and fell off.

Katie quickly covered her mouth to stop any giggles that threatened to escape. "Hikaru, are you alright?"

Hikaru sat up and rubbed his head. "Yeah…" He burst out laughing.

Katie joined him, laughing at how he had fallen off the bed. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked him.

Hikaru nodded. "Just fallen off the bed. It's not going to give me a concussion or anything."

Katie nodded. "Well, that's good. We're going out again. It wouldn't be good if you already had a concussion..."

Hikaru frowned. "Already? What do you mean by already?"

Katie froze. Oops... She shook her head. "Nothing. Honest."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously before nodding. "Fine. I'll go and get dressed." He got up off the floor and headed back to his room, ignoring the looks he received from the maids and other servants.

"Master Hikaru?"

Hikaru turned to see one of the maids standing at his bedroom door. "Yes?"

"May I ask what you were doing in Mistress Katie's room last night?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I felt lonely. I slept next to her. That's all."

The maid nodded, although she still looked suspicious. "You seem very close to her, Master Hikaru."

Hikaru frowned at her. "What's that meant to mean?"

"I am just suggesting that something else could have happened…"

"No!" Hikaru looked disgusted. "I would _never_ do that to her! She doesn't even feel the same way about me…"

The maid nodded. "I apologise for my rudeness, Master Hitachiin."

Hikaru shrugged. "Don't care. Just leave me alone to change and get ready."

The maid nodded again and walked out of his room, leaving Hikaru to get dressed for the day out he was about to have. He still wasn't too sure about going out with the group after everything that had happened the day before…

He sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. _I can do this… I can't do this… what about Kao…?_

Katie knocked on the door. "Hey, Hikaru, are you ready?"

Hikaru frowned. "No… are you?"

Katie opened the bedroom door. "Hikaru, you haven't even changed out of your pyjamas yet."

Hikaru looked up to see Katie standing at his bedroom door, wearing a dressing gown over her underwear. Her hair was wet and curled tightly, and she looked innocent in the pink and white that she wore. _She looks so naturally beautiful…_

"Hikaru?"

"Huh?" Hikaru snapped out of his trance. "Sorry, uh…" He gave a nervous smile. "What was the question?"

"Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"Uh… I was thinking…"

Katie frowned. "About what?"

"Just… whether I really want to go out or not…." He sighed and put his head back in his hands. "I… I don't know what to do… Kaoru usually helps me in decisions like this…"

Katie thought about it. "Well, how about you come along with us, and then if you don't like it we can go to the hospital to see Kaoru." She knew what the guys were really planning – they had told her and Rebecca the night before – and she wasn't too sure about it either, but she knew it was up to Hikaru to decide.

Hikaru looked over at her and nodded. "Okay, I'll do that, then." He smiled at her gratefully, although there was a hint of love in there as well. "Thanks, Katie. You're a great friend." _And hopefully, maybe more than a friend?_

Katie smiled back at him. "I know."

Hikaru smirked. "Arrogant."

"Self-centred."

"Baka."

"Twat."

The two of them grinned at each other. "Ginge!" They laughed at each other.

Hikaru was the first to stop laughing. "So… we're definitely going?"

Katie shrugged. "Only if you want to, Hika."

Hikaru nodded. "I'll go. But only if you stay with me." A faint blush started to creep up on his cheeks. _Boy, that sounded cheesy…_

"Sure," she smiled at him. "I'll do it."

The blush faded instantly, and Hikaru smiled. "Thank you, Katie, for everything."

Katie smiled back at him. "Hey, what are friends for?"

* * *

Hikaru frowned as he followed Katie into the town park. Something wasn't right. He felt… _set up_. "Katie…"

Katie turned to face Hikaru. "Yeah, Hika?"

"Something doesn't feel—"

"Katie! Hikaru!"

Katie turned back and waved over at her group of friends, who sat on the park grass. "Hey, guys!" She headed over to them.

Hikaru followed her slowly. This felt wrong to him – being out without Kaoru. Why did he relent and come along, then? _Because I knew Katie was going to be here…_

"Hey, slow poke!"

Hikaru looked up suddenly to see the others waiting for him expectantly.

"Come on!"

Hikaru forced a smile onto his face and headed over to the group. "Sorry, guys."

Katie frowned, seeing right through his smile, but didn't comment on it. "It's alright, Hika. You take your time."

Hikaru just rolled his eyes at her and sat down between her and Eren.

"So, what should we play first?" Andrea asked.

"Truth or dare?" Mukta suggested.

"No. Truts," Eglé said.

Hikaru frowned. "Truts? What is truts?"

"Awkward truths," Andrea explained to him. "We ask stupid questions like who we think is sexiest and who we would kiss and stuff like that – questions that would make us feel really awkward. So, how about we play 21 Truts?"

Hikaru paled slightly as he listened to the explanation. If this truts game was what Andrea said it was… _everyone will end up finding out about my crush…_

Rebecca looked over at Hikaru worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Eren smirked. He knew exactly what was wrong. "He's too scared to play Truts with us."

"No I'm not!" Hikaru protested.

Eren raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?"

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah! I'll play and prove it to you!"

Katie mentally face palmed. _It's so easy to manipulate this guy…_

* * *

"18, 19…"

"20!"

Hikaru pouted. "I lose again?"

Katie laughed. "Okay, okay, who has a question for Hikaru?"

Eren grinned. "Who do you think is the sexiest person out of our group here?"

Hikaru blushed slightly. "Do I have to answer this one too?" For every single question he had been given, he'd had to lie to keep his secret. Of course, Isaac and Eren knew that he was lying all along, and Katie felt suspicious whenever he gave a different answer, but no one else suspected a thing.

Rebecca nodded. "You have to answer every time you lose."

Hikaru sighed. "Well…" He thought about it. "Uh…"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little baby group?"

The group turned to see Kevin and his group walking over to them, their swaggers exaggerated to annoy them. Kevin's nose was slightly flatter than usual and had a huge plaster covering it to avoid people seeing it.

Katie smirked. "I see the nose job you gave him went well, Hikaru."

Hikaru smiled. "Yeah, it really does suit him, doesn't it?"

Kevin glared at them and snarled. "Well, ginge, why don't you just go back home to your mummy before I beat the shit out of you?"

Hikaru's face morphed into anger. "Why don't you turn yourself in to the police before I get you arrested for attacking my family?"

Kevin laughed darkly. "You know what? I got out free yesterday because of you. Thank you, ginge for punching my nose in."

Hikaru fumed. "You no good—"

"What are you doing here, Kevin?" Eren demanded.

"Well, I was coming over to see if you were playing your little Hunger Games, as you usually do."

Eglé narrowed her eyes at him. "We can have perfectly civilized conversations, you know. Unlike you, who goes around attacking random people for no reason."

"Yeah," Isaac agreed. "Twat."

Kevin snarled slightly before turning back to Hikaru. "So… how's that ginger brother of yours? Katu? Kavu?"

Hikaru glared at him. "Don't talk about Kaoru like that."

Kevin shrugged, feigning innocence. "I was just wondering. After all…" he knelt down to Hikaru's level, "…I was the one who put him in hospital."

Hikaru snapped, punching him straight in the mouth. Kevin fell back, stunned, before he punched back, catching Hikaru just below the eye. Hikaru growled, slightly stunned before he jumped on top of Kevin and started to attack him mercilessly. Kevin pushed back with all of his strength, but couldn't get the older twin off him. He rolled them over, putting himself in the best position to attack him. Hikaru gasped in pain when he felt a punch to his stomach.

Katie's eyes widened as she watched the fight. "Hikaru! Stop it!"

Kevin's gang laughed as they watched the fight, finding the girls' horror at it amusing.

Eren fumed. "And what do you think is so funny, buck-tooth?" Eren asked one of the boys before getting up and punching him in the face. He soon got into a fight with the rest of the boys, and Isaac, Eglé, Will and Joe wasted no time getting involved.

The other girls watched the fight with horror. "Hey! Stop!"

Katie attempted to pull Hikaru off Kevin and gasped when she felt his elbow hit her chest. She moved back. "Ow!"

Hikaru's eyes widened when he realized what he'd done and turned to check on Katie. "Are you okay?" he asked, focusing on her.

Katie rubbed her chest tenderly. "I… I-I'll be fine…"

Hikaru frowned. "Where does it hurt?" he asked, worried.

Katie pointed to a part of her ribs on the right side of her chest. "Here."

Hikaru reached over and touched the area, looking for any injuries and ignoring Katie when she jumped slightly.

Kevin watched this all go on, anger evident in his eyes. _How dare he challenge me to a fight and then ignore me for some… some girl?!_ He reached into his back pocket and grabbed something. No one did that to him. Ever.

Katie's eyes widened when she realized what Kevin was about to do. "Hikaru! Look out!"

Hikaru turned to see Kevin raising his fist and noticed something glinting in his hand. He brought his arm up to block it as Kevin's arm came down repeatedly. "Ah!" He winced as he felt some pain in his arm.

Kevin pulled the knife out of Hikaru's arm after the third stab and dropped it, staining the grass. This caught the girls' attention.

Andrea growled. "Now he's crossed the line." She and Mukta leapt at him, punching his face and pulling out his hair.

Hikaru slowly pulled his arm down and paled when he saw the blood pouring out of the wounds on either side of his arm. The knife had gone straight through…

"Call an ambulance!" Rebecca cried as she and Eglé rushed over to him.

Hikaru whimpered at the sight of the wounds on his arm and felt tears in his eyes once the pain registered, breathing deeply to calm himself down. He felt sick.

"That looks really bad…" Eglé muttered once she saw the wound and pulled out her phone to call the ambulance.

Katie crawled over to them. "Oh my goodness…"

Hikaru took deep breaths to stop himself from hyperventilating. "Katie…"

"Shhh…" Katie put a comforting hand on his back. "You'll be fine…"

Hikaru could feel the bile starting to rise in his throat. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Andrea slapped Kevin once more around the face before moving away, leaving Mukta to deal with him. She pulled off her jacket and quickly walked over to Hikaru, stretching out her jacket and wrapping it tightly around Hikaru's arm to try and slow down the bleeding. Mukta joined the group not long after, rubbing her knuckles slightly.

Hikaru felt tears run down his cheeks. "I think I'm going to be sick…"

"Shhh…" Katie continued to rub his back soothingly. She ran a hand through his red hair, smiling slightly when she felt him lean into the touch. "You'll be fine, Hikaru…"

Hikaru nodded and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"The ambulance should be here in about ten minutes," Eglé explained.

The other boys in Kevin's gang stared in shock at what Kevin had done. They'd all stopped their fights to see what had happened, and now they were terrified. _Knife? How do we deal with this?_

Eren glared at them. "You no good m********king a**holes! You see what you've done?"

One of the boys glared back. "It weren't us! It was 'im!" He pointed at Kevin, who was lying on the floor wincing at the bruises on his face.

Eren just socked him in the stomach. "You're his gang…"

"Uh… Andrea…?" Hikaru watched as blood leaked through her jacket. "This… this bandage isn't working so well…" He paled further at the sight of his own blood leaking onto the grass and closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't be sick. _I hate this… why did it have to be me?_

Isaac smiled, relieved, when he saw the ambulance approaching. "The ambulance is here!"

Katie smiled at Hikaru. "Everything is going to be alright…."

* * *

"He _what_?"

Katie and Andrea winced as they stood at the foot of Kaoru's bed. They'd never heard Kaoru _this_ angry. If fact, Andrea had never heard Kaoru get very angry at all. This was a first for her. "He… he got into a fight and… and got injured…"

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. "How badly?"

"Uhhh…" The girls rubbed the backs of their necks awkwardly. "Well… what if we told you the guy fighting him had a knife…?"

Kaoru's eyes widened. "A… a knife…?" He clutched the covers. "Where was he stabbed?"

Andrea patted her left forearm where the three stab wounds were.

"Right." Kaoru moved slowly on the bed into a position where he was sitting up with his leg over the side to avoid too much pain from his ribs. "Bring me the wheelchair. Now."

Katie frowned. "Why?"

"I'm going to see my brother."

Andrea shook her head. "No. You need to rest. You haven't even recovered fully from your concussion. Your ribs still hurt, you've got a broken leg, and that bruise on your face doesn't look all that pretty."

Kaoru glared at her. "Bring me the wheelchair now."

"No."

"Don't make me walk over there."

"Walk. I want to see how far you get."

Kaoru glared at her and sighed. "Fine. Here I go." He slowly slipped off the bed and stepped onto his stronger foot, keeping all of the weight off his broken and casted foot. He took a deep breath before hopping one step towards the wheelchair.

Katie could see the determination in his eyes and sighed before getting the wheelchair for him. "There. Happy?"

Kaoru grinned as he sat down. "Yup." He made sure he was sat comfortably. "Now wheel me to his room."

Andrea sighed. "Why am I agreeing to do this?"

"For Kaoru's good," Katie muttered. "Otherwise he's going to pester us about it. I know he will."

Andrea groaned. "Fine." She grabbed the wheelchair and turned him around quickly, causing him to hang on tightly to the chair in order to stay on it.

Kaoru turned his head and glared at her. "Got your payback yet?"

Andrea smiled sweetly and nodded. "Yup." She pushed the wheelchair forward quickly and managed to stop Kaoru right before he got to the door.

Kaoru gasped before turning to glare at her again. "Okay, now you're just being bitchy."

Andrea gasped. "Rich boy swore!"

"Shut up."

Katie just shook her head at them. Andrea was always the playful one…

Andrea rolled Kaoru out of the room and the trio headed down the corridor to the room where Hikaru was staying. The older twin had come out of the operating theatre about ten minutes before, still heavily sedated, so the doctor was just coming out of the room when the trio arrived.

The doctor smiled at them. He was young, like Dr Blake, but he was a dirty blonde with green eyes. "Hello. You must be the other Hitachiin – Dr Blake's patient?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah…" He looked over to the door. "Is… is my brother alright?"

The doctor nodded. "He's lucky. Every time the knife stabbed him, it missed all the major tendons and bones in his arm. This means minimal damage was done to his arm. Just some tears in the muscle that we managed to suture pretty securely. It may take a while to heal due to the fact that the knife penetrated his whole arm, but that should be fine. He had quite a bit of blood loss, but we've restored it to a healthy level. He's just hyped up on drugs now." He grinned at Andrea and Katie.

Andrea and Katie sniggered, whilst Kaoru just shook his head at them.

"Thank you, Doctor…"

The doctor smiled. "Doctor Jackson."

Kaoru nodded. "Thank you Dr Jackson." He looked up at Andrea. "Can we go to the room now?"

Andrea nodded. "Let's go and see druggie Hika, then."

Katie punched her arm, even though she was smirking. "Stop it. Hikaru isn't a druggie."

Andrea shrugged as she pushed Kaoru over to the door in the chair. "I know. It's called a joke."

Kaoru fiddled with his hands on his lap. _I hope it's not too bad… I don't want Hikaru's injuries to be too bad…_ The worrying caused his head to start hurting slightly, and he closed his eyes to prevent the level of pain from getting too high.

Katie saw this. "Are you alright Kaoru?"

Kaoru jumped slightly. _She doesn't miss anything…_ "Yeah, just a bit nervous about Hikaru…"

"Don't worry. He'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smiled before pushing the door open. She nearly burst out laughing at what she saw.

Hikaru sat up on the bed, hooked up to various IV lines that fed his body with various medicines, painkillers and blood transfusions. His pupils were slightly dilated from the sedatives, although his eyes were wide open and staring… at his hand. Apart from that, he seemed to be fairly healthy – his skin wasn't as pale as it had been when he'd first arrived, and he wasn't sweating as much. The only difference compared to the normal Hikaru was the fact that there was a cast-type bandage wrapped tightly around his left forearm and a bruise just under his left eye.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow as he was wheeled into the room. "Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked up when he heard his name and grinned. "Kao-Kao! You're here!" he slurred.

Kaoru rolled his eyes at his brother and decided to take over the wheelchair, wheeling himself over to the bed. "And how are you doing?"

"I… I had something funny, Kao…" Hikaru laughed. "It's making me feel funny…"

"Really?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "What happened to make you have that funny thing, Hika?"

"I…" Hikaru frowned. "I got hurt… Kao…"

"How?"

Hikaru pouted slightly. "Fight… and… knife…"

Kaoru was fuming. "You got into a _fight_?"

Hikaru flinched. "F-f-fight…"

Kaoru growled lowly. "It wasn't about me, was it?"

Hikaru blushed guiltily and looked down. "K-K-Kao…"

"It _was_ about me?!" Kaoru clenched his fist to avoid hitting his brother for being so stupid. His head was pounding now, and it was only making him feel worse. "Why would you be so stupid as to get into a fight about _me_?!" he yelled.

Andrea saw the heart rate monitor Hikaru was hooked up to start beeping fast. "Kaoru…"

"You knew I was _fine_! And yet you went ahead, being the short-tempered _idiot_ you are, and got into a fight with someone!" Kaoru glared at his brother's arm. "And someone with a _knife_ no less?!"

Hikaru cowered away from his brother as much as the IV lines would let him. "K-K-Kao…"

Katie moved forward. "Kaoru, stop."

"Don't you have a brain up there? You could've been _killed_!" Kaoru exclaimed, tears coming to his eyes.

"Kaoru!" Andrea and Katie called out. "You're scaring him!"

Hikaru just stared at his brother, seeing the tears in his eyes, still slightly scared. "K-Kaoru…?"

Kaoru just turned away from his brother. "What would I have done if you were dead, Hikaru?"

Tears immediately welled up in Hikaru's eyes. "Kao!"

Kaoru turned back to his brother. "Yes?"

Hikaru held his hands out. "Hug!"

Kaoru gave a watery smile and wheeled himself over to the bed, reaching out and hugging his big brother. He buried his face into his brother's shoulder and let the tears flow silently, sobbing quietly.

Hikaru buried his face into Kaoru's neck. "I… I didn't die… Kao…"

"I… I know, Hika… but you could've…" Kaoru sobbed into his brother's shoulder. "I… I'm glad you're alive…"

Hikaru smiled and pulled Kaoru away from him so that he could see his face. "So am I…"

Kaoru gave a watery grin. "Without you… no more pranks…"

Katie and Andrea laughed lightly at Kaoru's statement.

Hikaru grinned as a tear escaped from his eye. _I… love you so much, Kaoru…_ "Hehe…"

Kaoru pulled Hikaru back into a hug, burying his face into his shoulder again. Hikaru buried his face into Kaoru's shoulder and let his own tears fall. The comfort that the hug provided soon caused Hikaru to close his eyes and relish in it, and it didn't take long for his breathing to even out and for his heart rate to slow down.

Kaoru pulled away from Hikaru slightly when he heard light breathing and smiled when he realized his brother had fallen asleep. "Uh, Katie…?"

Katie smiled and helped Kaoru to lay Hikaru back on the bed. "He looks exhausted… going out really wore him out."

Kaoru nodded.

"Must be the sedatives as well," Andrea said as she walked over.

Kaoru ran his hand over Hikaru's cast-bandage and sighed. "I just can't believe we're _both_ in hospital now…"

"Hikaru should be out within a couple of days," Andrea explained. "But it might take a little longer for you because of your concussion."

Kaoru nodded and winced when he felt his headache get worse. He groaned slightly and clutched his head.

Katie frowned. "Kaoru? What's wrong?"

He took deep breaths. "Head… hurts…"

Andrea took the handles of the wheelchair. "Let's head back. We should get Dr Blake to give you a checkup."

"O… okay…" Kaoru allowed himself to be wheeled out of the room without protest, still in slight pain.

Katie looked over at Hikaru. "Actaully, I… I think I'll stay here to keep an eye on him…" She blushed as the words came out of her mouth.

Andrea smiled. "That's fine. You know to call the doctor when he wakes up, right?"

Katie nodded.

"Then you'll be fine. See you later," Andrea headed down the corridor with Kaoru.

Katie waved at the two as they left the room before sitting on one of the plastic chairs by Hikaru's bed. She smiled a little as she watched Hikaru sleep. _He's so peaceful…_ She stroked his hair softly and watched as he fidgeted slightly before falling into a deep sleep with a small smile on his face, his snoring light. _He always loves people playing with his hair…_

Of course, Katie was too busy thinking about the boy lying on the bed to notice Dr Jackson standing at the door, watching her. He smiled. "Cute couple."

Katie turned to him quickly and blushed. "We… we're not…"

Dr Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Really? You seem like—"

"I have a crush on him?" Katie interrupted.

"No," Dr Jackson laughed. "Like you're _in love_ with him."

Katie stared at him, horrified. "In love?" _That does solve quite a few of the feelings and strange thoughts you've had recently… __**Shut up, brain!**_ "I… I don't know…"

Dr Jackson nodded and chuckled. "Well, make up your mind before you lose the chance – I'll give you that piece of advice from experience."

Katie nodded. "Uh… thanks." _Now how am I meant to go about this? Tell him that I love him and get it out of the way? I don't think so._

The doctor chuckled lightly. "All I'm saying is not to miss your chance. It hurts when you do."

Katie nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem." Dr Jackson smiled at her before he left the room to go and check on another of his patients.

Katie ran her hand through Hikaru's hair and sighed. "Well, what do you think I should do, Hika? Should I tell you how I feel, or should I wait?"

Hikaru snored lightly before turning onto his right side and facing away from Katie, sighing in his sleep.

Katie smiled and continued to run her hand through his hair. "I guess I have to wait, then…" She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, Hikaru."

* * *

When Hikaru woke up a few hours later, it was fairly dark in the room. The curtains were drawn, and the only light came in from the corridor, where it was filtered from underneath the door before being let in.

He yawned as he sat up and frowned when he didn't feel his fringe on his forehead as usual. He almost always slept with his fringe down… He put his hand up to feel his hair only to find it had all been pushed back from his face. _Someone's been messing with my hair…_

Just then, Dr Jackson entered the room, turning on the lights and making sure they weren't too bright. "Good evening, Mr Hitachiin."

Hikaru squinted at the lights. "Uh… hi." He rubbed his eyes. "Um… who are you?"

Dr Jackson smiled. "I'm your doctor, Dr Michael Jackson."

Hikaru frowned. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No. My parents thought it'd be nice to name their child after a famous singer. I have a sister called Janet and a brother called Samuel Lawrence."

Hikaru snorted and moved into a more comfortable position on the bed. "That must be really annoying."

"It is." Dr Jackson smiled. "But back to you. How are you feeling, Hikaru?"

Hikaru shrugged before touching the bruise on his face lightly and wincing. "Fine, I guess."

The doctor noted this down. "Your arm?"

Hikaru was just about to move his arm when he noticed a redheaded girl sleeping with her head right beside it. He jumped. "Aah!"

Dr Jackson looked up. "What's wrong?"

Hikaru frowned before he recognized the girl. "K… Katie?" He frowned again. "What is she doing here?"

The doctor smiled. "She fell asleep whilst watching you. She wanted to make sure you were alright whilst your brother was taken back to his room."

Hikaru frowned. "Why? What happened to Kaoru?"

"He was having headaches." Dr Jackson frowned. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember?" Hikaru thought about it as he absentmindedly reached forward and started playing with Katie's hair. "I… I remember coming into the hospital on a stretcher… I was really tired, and felt like passing out… and then they hooked me up to something and it made me feel sleepy… and that's all I remember. Then I remember coming back to my room… hugging someone… and falling asleep."

Dr Jackson nodded and noted it down. "I'll make sure to ask Katie, Andrea and Kaoru tell me what happened." He raised an eyebrow at Hikaru's hand. "I see your arm is getting better."

Hikaru looked down and blushed before pulling his left arm away, wincing slightly at the sudden movement and the sudden tug it gave his stitches. "Uh… I guess…"

Dr Jackson nodded. "I think I'll leave you to get on with her…"

"No!" Hikaru blushed harder and cleared his throat. "I mean… don't leave me alone… with her…"

"Why not?"

"It's just… a bit… awkward…" He bit his lip. "And… and I have a bit of a crush on her…"

"Ah…" The young doctor smiled. "Young love."

"What?" Hikaru frowned.

"Oh, nothing." He pretended to look interested in the clipboard he was holding. "It looks like you should be ready to release, Mr Hitachiin. We'll keep you overnight to keep an eye on you, though."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay. I'm good with that."

Dr Jackson nodded. "I'd stay, but I have other patients to check up on." He clipped his pen back to the clipboard. "So I'll be back later, alright?"

Hikaru pouted. "But…"

"Okay, see you later!" The doctor walked quickly out of the room before Hikaru could protest anymore and shut the door behind him.

Hikaru sighed and continued to absentmindedly play with Katie's hair until he heard her stirring. His eyes widened and he was about to pull his hand away when she lifted her head, tangling his fingers even more in her hair. "Uh…"

Katie blinked heavily and yawned before looking over at Hikaru. She rubbed her eyes and smiled. "Hi…" She frowned when she realized his hand was in her hair. "What are you doing?"

"Uh…" He laughed nervously and blushed, pulling his hand out of her hair. _I… I don't know what to say…_ "Well… uh…"

Katie gave a small smile. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Hikaru blushed an even darker red. "Uh…" He gave her a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. _What am I meant to say?_ "Sorry…"

Katie smiled at him. "It's fine… I just want to know why you were touching my hair."

Hikaru was beet red by this point. "I… I don't know…"

Katie nodded. "Okay…" She patted her hair down. "Did the doctor come in?"

Hikaru's blush faded slowly as he nodded. "Yeah, Dr Jackson came in."

"What did he say?"

"My arm seems fine and all. I should be able to go home tomorrow."

Katie smiled brightly. "That's great!"

Hikaru nodded. "But… Kaoru won't be able to go home for another few days…"

Katie's smile faded, and she nodded. "I'll take care of you, if you want?" She blushed lightly.

Hikaru frowned. "How would you… oh…" He blushed when he remembered exactly how the pair had woken up that morning. "Well… uh… I don't exactly mind you taking care of me… I mean… I'll be feeling lonely… and… well… uh…" His face went bright red.

Katie gave a small smile as she blushed. "I… I don't mind… if you're lonely, that is…"

Hikaru gave her a small smile. "That… that would be nice…"

Katie smiled and pecked Hikaru on the cheek. "Well, I should be heading back now. I'll check on Kaoru before leaving." She smiled at him. "See you tomorrow?"

Hikaru nodded, blushing even more. "See you tomorrow."

Katie got up and walked out of the room, giving him a small wave before closing the door behind her.

As soon as she had left, Hikaru gave a huge sigh. _Okay, this is definitely more than a crush. I had a crush on Haruhi, and it was nothing like this._ His eyes widened when he realized what it had to be.

_Love._

* * *

**So, my lovely readers...**

**Review!**


	5. Holidays Abroad Part 5

**Here's your next episode, readers! I'm sorry if it felt like it was quite a while since I've updated... I've been studying a lot, I've had a lot on my mind, and I've only just managed to get to update this story.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Holidays abroad part 5

"You ready to go?"

Kaoru smiled at his brother and nodded. "I've been ready for days. I want to get out of this place now!"

Hikaru chuckled. "Come on, then!" His casted arm hung by his side whilst he held out his right hand to his twin, beckoning him to come along.

Kaoru nodded and took a deep breath before he slipped off the bed, dressed in the jeans, white t-shirt and orange hoodie that Hikaru had brought over for him from the holiday mansion. He was only able to wear one trainer, due to the fact that his left leg was in a cast, and he had crutches supporting him on both sides. He smiled at his brother. "At least I can still balance myself."

Hikaru laughed. "Let's see if you can make it to the door."

Kaoru nodded and took a deep breath before using the crutches to get to the door. He smiled when he reached it without too much problem.

Hikaru smiled. "You've been practicing."

"Well, I'm going to be using them for the next two and a half months, so I have to get used to them." He sighed. "I just wish I didn't have to…"

Hikaru nodded. He knew what his brother meant. He wished he didn't have to have his left arm in a cast either – it restricted him from doing certain things already. He couldn't use his left hand to pick anything up, mainly because it was too weak and it hurt too much. But Kaoru… Kaoru couldn't walk normally for the next two and a half months. "Same…"

Kaoru looked over at his brother. "So, where are we headed now?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Katie only told me to get you to the carpark. After that, I have no clue."

Kaoru frowned. "What are they planning?"

"I don't know. Honestly." Hikaru opened the door. "But if I were you, I'd go to find out."

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Where's 'there'?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, okay."

"So are we there yet?"

Katie sighed. Ever since they had gotten into the limo, the twins had been questioning her non-stop about where they were going. Telling them "_it's a surprise_" didn't seem to help much either, as it only caused them to become impatient and ask more questions.

"Are we there yet?" Hikaru asked.

"No," Katie muttered.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Holy Ra…" Katie face palmed. "No, we are not!"

Hikaru pouted. "I just wanted to know…"

"I'll tell you when we get there! Now shut up! Both of you!"

Hikaru and Kaoru both shrunk back into their seats, slightly scared for their safety.

Katie sighed and smiled. "Thank you."

The car ride continued in silence for another ten minutes before Hikaru got bored again. "Are we there yet?"

"Yes." Katie smiled as she looked outside the window.

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned before they looked out of the windows and frowned. "Where are we?"

Katie smiled. "We're still in Harlow, guys, but we're going to eat out."

Hikaru frowned. "Where?"

"Do you two like Chinese food?"

The twins shrugged. "We guess so…"

"Then you'll love this place!" She opened the door. "We've just got a bit of a walk…" She looked at Kaoru.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at her. "Just because I'm on crutches doesn't make it impossible for me to move around. I'll be fine."

Katie nodded. "If you say so."

"He'll be fine," Hikaru said, defending his younger brother. "He's been practicing, remember? He might just get a bit tired if he has to walk around a lot."

"We won't be walking around too much," Katie told them. "Don't worry." She climbed out of the car. "Come on, you two."

Hikaru nodded and climbed out of the car before he and Katie helped Kaoru out, handing him his crutches.

Kaoru smiled at them. "Thanks." He moved his weight off Hikaru's arm and onto the crutches to that he could move around. "So, where are we headed now?"

"Just through here," Katie said, leading the twins down a couple of pathways before they came out in front of a couple of shops. She led them over to a restaurant on one of the corners. "Here we are."

Hikaru and Kaoru read the sign above the restaurant. "_King Du_?"

Katie nodded as she opened the door for them. "Yup. It's an amazing Chinese restaurant. You'll love it."

"Doubt it," Hikaru muttered, earning an elbow in the ribs from Kaoru. "Ow!"

"Don't be mean." He followed Katie over to the door and smiled at her as he went inside. "Besides, I think this actually might be quite nice."

"Pfft." Hikaru followed Kaoru into the restaurant and waited for Katie to come in before walking over to the Host's desk. "So… what do we do now?"

Katie walked over to them. "We wait for a host."

One of the waiters walked over. "Hello. Table for three?"

"Uh, we have a reservation. It's under the name Brigden?"

The waiter looked through the reservations booklet and nodded. "There are more coming?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah. We've got a large group. Is there a problem with that?"

"You will have to wait for more of them to arrive first."

Kaoru's face fell slightly. "Well, that's just great." He leaned against the wall. "I'm not sure if I can wait that long."

Hikaru sighed. "Can't you call them and tell them to hurry up?"

Katie shook her head. "Roaming charges are expensive." She sighed and leaned against the wall next to Kaoru. "Can't we just get our tables now?"

The waiter shook his head. "You have to wait. We do not have enough tables available."

Katie huffed. "Well he has a broken leg. He needs to sit down."

"I am sorry, but you have to wait."

Kaoru sighed as he balanced on one leg. It was already starting to ache. "Are you sure there's nowhere I can sit whilst I wait?"

"Maybe we won't have to wait." Katie nodded over to the door, where Andrea and Rebecca were just coming in with two other girls behind them. One of the girls had dark hair that went down to half-way down her back, and the other was a strawberry blonde, her hair occasionally looking red in the sunlight. Andrea waved at them as she walked over.

"Hey, guys."

Kaoru and Hikaru smiled at her. "Hey!"

Rebecca smiled at them. "Hey, guys."

Hikaru looked over at the other two girls. "Who are they?"

Katie smiled. "Oh, you never met them. They're Amie and Chloe. They couldn't come with us earlier this week, but they could come today. They wanted to meet you two."

Amie smiled. "Hi! I'm Amie."

Kaoru smiled at her. "I'm Kaoru, and this is my brother Hikaru."

Hikaru nodded at her. "Hey."

Chloe smiled at them both. "It's nice to meet you both. Andrea and Katie have told us a lot about you. Mukta and Eglé – not so much."

Andrea smirked. "Well, they're totally awesome people. I mean, they're close friends with Katie. How can you be friends with Katie and _not_ be awesome?"

Hikaru grinned. "Thank you for the compliment."

"No problem."

Katie smiled at Hikaru. _He gets on so well with my buddies… maybe if we started dating…_ She ended that train of thought abruptly. _**That is out of the question. Don't even consider it, Brigden.**_

"Katie?"

Katie looked up to see Hikaru looking down at her, a concerned look on his face. "Hmmm?"

"You look worried," he said. "Are you alright?"

Katie nodded. "I'm just thinking. That's all." She smiled at him. "I'm perfectly fine."

Hikaru nodded at her, smiling. "That's good."

Andrea watched the interaction with interest, smiling slightly at the pair. _They're so sweet…_

Not long after, Eglé, Mukta and Eren arrived at the restaurant. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey!"

Kaoru smiled gratefully. "So we can sit down now?"

The waiter nodded and led the group over to their reserved tables, setting down their menus for them. The group sat down at the two tables, Kaoru, Katie, Hikaru, Andrea and Chloe on one table. Kaoru sat at the end of the table, meaning that it was easy for him to get out. Hikaru sat next to him, and Katie sat on the far end. Andrea and Chloe sat opposite them.

"So, you're Hikaru and Kaoru?" Chloe asked.

The twins nodded.

"So which one of you has a crush on Katie?"

"Neither of us," Kaoru answered quickly before Hikaru could flush a bright red. "We're all just friends."

Hikaru nodded in agreement.

"Oh, okay." Chloe looked over at Katie. "Which one do you have a crush on?"

Katie flushed bright red. "Well…"

Andrea grinned. "It's Hikaru, obviously."

Katie frowned at her. "No it isn't!"

"Then who is it?"

Katie just looked at the menu. "So, what do you guys want to order?"

"The usual for me," Andrea said. "Pretty much the same as you, biffle."

Katie looked up when she heard the nickname. _She hasn't used that nickname in ages… and it feels like I haven't heard that in years…_ She smiled.

Andrea frowned. "What's so funny?"

"The nickname…"

Hikaru frowned at Katie. "Nickname?" He cocked his head curiously. "What about it?"

"It's been so long since I've heard it… I kind of missed it."

"D'awww!" Andrea grinned. "You missed me!"

Katie glared at her. "I didn't say I missed you, _baka_."

"I bet you do, though."

"How can I miss you when you're sitting in front of me?"

"You miss my stupid jokes and flawless intelligence."

"You're not flawless."

Andrea pouted.

Hikaru and Kaoru watched the playful banter with amusement on their faces. _The two seem really close…_ "You two seem to argue a lot…"

"It's fun annoying ginge," Andrea said, smirking.

"Well, I don't like it," Katie muttered.

"I don't think you're meant to."

Eren turned around from where he sat on the other table and grinned. "Those two almost always argue. And they're easy to annoy too."

Andrea spluttered indignantly. "No we aren't!"

Eren grinned. "Nose hair!"

Andrea quickly covered her nose. "Stop it, you tway!"

Katie laughed.

"What are you laughing at, lovergirl? We all know you just want to kiss Hikaru and get it over and done with!"

Katie blushed and huffed, annoyed with her best friend. "Shut up!"

"Awww, little Katie has a crush!" Chloe teased.

"Stop it!" Katie wailed, putting her head down on the table out of embarrassment.

"Katie and Hikaru sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

It was Hikaru's turn to flush a bright red now. "Okay, guys, that's enough..."

Eren grinned. "And then there's the fact that Hikaru has a crush on Katie..."

The whole group cooed, causing Hikaru to turn an even darker shade of red and glare at Eren. "No I don't."

"Your blush suggests otherwise," Eglé pointed out.

Hikaru turned his glare on her, and Eglé just smirked.

"You don't scare me, biatch. I watch horror movies for a living."

Andrea snorted. "She does and all..."

Hikaru just huffed before folding his arms. "I don't like this," he muttered.

"Neither do I," Katie mumbled from where her head lay on the table.

Just then, the last three of the group entered the restaurant - Isaac, Will and Joe. The trio headed over to where the group was split across two table and joined them – Isaac joining Katie's table and Will and Joe joining Eren's.

"Hey guys," Isaac greeted. "Alright?"

Andrea smiled at him. "Course we are, Isaac. We're all good."

Isaac nodded. "That's good." He looked over at the twins, who were sitting opposite him. "How are you two feeling?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Alright, I guess. My ribs still hurt a little bit, but I'll live."

"What about your concussion?"

Kaoru tensed slightly. "How do you know about my concussion?"

Eren turned around. "Everyone knows about your concussion. Andrea worked it out."

Kaoru turned to Andrea. "How did you work it out?"

"Slurred speech, headaches, nausea," Andrea counted on her fingers. "They're all symptoms of a concussion."

"Oh."

Isaac turned to Hikaru. "How about you?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I'm good, I guess. I'm still on painkillers, though." He picked up the chopsticks that lay on the table beside him and started fiddling around with them.

"Arm still hurts?" Isaac asked.

"Enough to stop me from sleeping at night." He attempted to break apart the chopsticks with one hand, but frowned when he failed at it miserably.

Katie sighed as she reached over and took the chopsticks from Hikaru, breaking them apart for him easily. She smiled at him. "There you go."

Hikaru blushed faintly. "Thanks."

Kaoru grinned. "Awww…"

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "All I did was help him with his chopsticks."

"Can we order now?" Isaac asked. "I came here to eat. Not talk."

"Sure, sure."

* * *

Kaoru yawned tiredly as he sat at the restaurant table, watching as the others conversed.

They'd finished their meal about half an hour ago, and now they were just sitting there chatting, since Kaoru couldn't walk around that much. Andrea, Katie and Hikaru were having a heated conversation about Physics, whereas Chloe and Isaac seemed to be having a conversation about pets.

Hikaru turned to face his brother when he heard him yawn. "You tired, Kaoru?"

"Hmmm?" Kaoru looked over at his brother and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

Hikaru chuckled. "I guess that's a yes. You slept a lot at the hospital, didn't you?"

Kaoru nodded and yawned again. "I don't know why I'm so tired already…"

"Well, you were really excited this morning about leaving, weren't you? And we've spent about three hours here already." Hikaru gave his brother a sympathetic smile. "Shall we head to the mansion?"

Kaoru shrugged, even though his answer was obvious.

Katie smiled. "Maybe we should head back. He looks exhausted."

Hikaru nodded and stood up. "We're leaving, guys."

Katie put her share of the bill down on the table. "Who else is leaving?"

Andrea shrugged. "I might leave a bit later. Becks' mum is picking me up."

"We'll leave when the others do," Eren said. "You guys just go ahead."

Isaac took the money. "We'll pay the bill for you. We can even pay it now and walk around the town for a little while."

Katie nodded. "Go ahead. We've got to go now, anyway."

"Okay, bye!"

Hikaru and Katie helped Kaoru up before the redheaded trio left the restaurant and headed to where the chauffeur would be waiting for them.

Kaoru limped along tiredly behind Hikaru and Katie with the crutches, struggling to move in a straight line. "Guys…"

Hikaru turned back to see Kaoru nearly trip over his own feet and quickly rushed back to help him. "Woah, there, sleepy. That the concussion making you tired?"

Kaoru leaned against his big brother. "I… I think so…" he yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I think I need to sleep more…"

"Didn't you sleep last night?"

Kaoru shook his head. "I was too excited that I was leaving the hospital, so I couldn't sleep much."

Hikaru chuckled. "You should've slept more."

"I know, I know."

Katie smiled as the twins walked along, Kaoru leaning on his brother for support. "Come on, you two. We need to head back and pack tonight so that we can leave tomorrow."

"Yeah, we're coming." The twins slowly headed over to where Katie was waiting for them, her arms folded and a smile on her face. They grinned at her. "Can't you pack _for_ us?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Just come on, idiots."

* * *

"Hikaru…"

"Hikaru…"

"Wake up, Hikaru…"

"Come on, Hika…"

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru finally opened his eyes when he felt a pillow hit his head. "What?" he asked sleepily, clearly annoyed with being woken up.

Kaoru sighed from the end of his brother's bed. "Come on, we have to go to the airport now. We've got a flight in three hours."

"Hmph." Hikaru pulled the covers over his head. "Why are we waking up at this ungodly hour?"

"Because that's when our flight is!" Katie pulled the covers off him and nearly grinned with relief when she saw he was wearing pyjama trousers.

Hikaru frowned at her and noticed the grin on her face. "You're lucky I decided not to sleep naked."

"That's why I'm smiling. Now get up."

"Alright, alright." Hikaru sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Give me fifteen minutes."

* * *

"Why do I have to have the window seat?"

"Because it's the last seat left."

"But I don't like the window seat."

"Then switch seats with me."

"But I want to sit next to Kaoru."

"Oh, for Ra's sake…"

Kaoru chuckled. "It's your fault for making us travel like commoners."

Hikaru nodded in agreement. He then turned to Kaoru. "Do you want the window seat?"

"You know as well as I do that I don't like window seats."

"I don't either."

"So I'm not going to sit there."

"But I don't want to sit by the window."

"Neither do I."

"Oh, for Ra's sake," Katie muttered before standing. "Get up, Hikaru. I'll sit there."

Hikaru pouted. "But—"

"Don't 'but' me. Move or you'll sit there for the whole plane ride."

Hikaru pouted slightly as he thought before getting up and moving to switch seats with Katie, who was sat in the middle aisle whilst the boys had sat next to the window. He sighed as he climbed over Kaoru. "Sorry, Kao. I just really don't…"

"It's alright." Kaoru smiled at his big brother. "You don't feel comfortable – I get it. I just… really don't want to sit there either. Sometimes I feel a little sick when I sit there…"

Katie sighed. "So you're gonna solve this by making me sit there this time?" She brushed past Hikaru and sat in his seat. "Fine."

Hikaru blushed lightly when he felt Katie brush against him and desperately tried to keep it down. He didn't want everyone in the airplane finding out about his crush…

Kaoru noticed his brother's blush and smirked, watching the eldest Hitachiin sit down. "Are you alright, Hikaru?"

"I'm fine," Hikaru snapped quietly, glaring at his brother. "I'm just gonna sit here and sleep, which is what I couldn't do at our mansion."

"Nighty night, Hikaru," Katie grinned from where she sat on the other side of Kaoru. "Have fun sleeping next to random strangers."

Hikaru glared at her before closing his eyes to sleep. "Shut up."

"No way."

* * *

When Hikaru next woke up, the plane had arrived back in Japan. He stirred when he felt someone shaking his shoulder, and opened his eyes to see a pair of blue eyes staring down into his amber ones. "Huh?"

Katie smiled at him. "Come on, Hikaru. We're back in Japan."

Hikaru sat up fully and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "We are?" he mumbled.

"Yeah," Katie confirmed. "You slept the whole journey, sleepy-head."

"I did?"

"And you slept pretty deeply. I think I heard you snore a little."

Hikaru blushed slightly. "You did?"

Katie nodded. "Well, come on. Kaoru is already off the plane with our carry-on luggage. One of the staff offered to carry it for him."

Hikaru nodded as he took his seatbelt off. He'd had it on for the whole journey, being asleep, so it was his first and last time taking it off on the plane. He stood up and stretched, only just noticing that most of the plane was empty. "Everyone else is gone?"

"Yup. They've gone for their luggage." Katie led Hikaru over to the exit. "Besides, I think the Host Club is waiting down there for us."

Hikaru nodded and then winced. _So what are they going to think about my arm, then…?_

* * *

**So... review!**


	6. Katie's Birthday

**Hey, readers! Here's your next episode! I hope you enjoy it!**

**Merry Christmas to you all!**

**(And if you really think the world is going to end... I laugh because I'm still here.)**

* * *

Katie's Birthday

When the Host Club had first seen the twins' injuries, the first things they had wanted to do was get the police on the guys. So when they found out that the guy behind it was in jail already because of Hikaru, they were comforted.

But only slightly.

"Are you sure you don't want anything, Hikaru? No tea, or biscuits?"

Hikaru sighed frustratedly. He didn't mind all this attention that Haruhi was paying him but… "No thanks, Haruhi. Frankly, it feels like you're suffocating me."

Haruhi just raised her eyebrows. "Way to be blunt, Hikaru."

"You're one to talk."

"Hikaru!" Kaoru scolded from where he had managed to limp over on his crutches. "Don't be mean to Haruhi. She's just trying to help."

"Nah, he's right," Haruhi said. "I'm suffocating him. Maybe I should get Katie to come over instead?"

Hikaru blushed. "Shut up."

Kaoru sniggered as he sat down next to his brother. "So, where are our customers today?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I don't know. I think Kyoya said something about them coming later because of our injuries or something…"

"He said he'd try to hold them back until you two got comfortable," Haruhi said. "I, personally, think we should let the guests tend to you themselves. It would do you some good."

"Hey, Kyoya!" Hikaru called out. "We're ready for our customers now!"

Kyoya nodded and spoke to a couple of ladies before leaving them to run over to Hikaru and Kaoru, worry on their faces.

Haruhi smiled. "Good luck, you two," she said before walking off to greet her customers for the day.

Hikaru took a deep breath and smiled at his brother. "You ready?" he asked, absentmindedly rubbing the cast on his arm.

Kaoru nodded, smiling at his brother softly. "Of course I am. But stop rubbing your arm – you look nervous."

Hikaru grinned. "Why, does it annoy you?"

"No, but I'm afraid your hand alone would sand it down."

"Hey!" Hikaru pouted.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!"

The twins looked up to see some of their customers walking over.

Hikaru gave a sad smile and waved with his good hand. "Oh, hello."

Kaoru nodded at the girls. "Hello, ladies!" He had a grin on his face, even though he knew that they were more focused on his leg. "Please, have a seat…"

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked around the Host Club, serving the groups of customers that had gathered around each of the hosts. She'd been so busy since they'd returned from England – cleaning up at the club, buying more supplies for its opening at the beginning of the term, preparing for the start of her second year at Ouran etc. – and now she didn't even have the time to check up on Hikaru and Kaoru. Their customers had swamped them as soon as they had arrived, and they weren't even letting her join them or talk to them. As soon as she got near, she was sent off on another errand.

"Are you alright, Katie?"

Katie looked over and saw Kyoya looking up at her from where he sat with his black notebook. She shrugged. "I guess… today is a really busy day."

"The first day back from a holiday is always busy – customers always want to see their favourite hosts and check on them," Kyoya explained.

Katie shrugged. "So? Don't they see them in class?"

"Not necessarily."

Katie sighed. "I haven't even had the chance to take a break."

"So what are you doing now?" Kyoya sighed. "Well, can you please get back to work, Katie? Our customers are getting thirsty."

Katie snorted. "How would you know? You barely interact with them anyway."

"Your job depends on it. If you don't go now, I'll dock your pay a whole day, and I know you can't afford that."

Katie growled. "No good, backstabbing..." She muttered the rest, knowing it would be best that the Shadow King didn't hear what she had to say about him. She headed over to the kitchen to get more tea and cupcakes before heading over to the twins' table, where the girls were fussing over their injuries.

"Hikaru, how are you going to take care of Kaoru now?" one of the customers asked.

"I'll take care of him like I normally do," Hikaru said, taking Kaoru's face with his good hand.

Kaoru blushed. "Hikaru…" He looked away from his brother.

"Yes, Kaoru…?"

"Not in front of the guests…"

"Yes, please not in front of the guests," Katie said as she placed the tray of food on the table.

The twins froze, and Hikaru let Kaoru go quickly, blushing. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Hehe... hey, Katie…"

Kaoru smiled at her. "We haven't seen you since we got back from England. How have you been?"

Katie glanced over at the girls, who had now started sending her small glares, before smiling at Kaoru. "I've been good, thanks. Just really busy preparing for all of your lovely guests." She turned to one of the guests. "I even tried one of those flavours you suggested - coffee and cream, was it?"

The girl smiled. "Yes, that's right."

Katie handed her one of the cupcakes. "I attempted it. Does it taste alright?"

The girl took the cupcake and smiled before tasting it. Her eyes lit up when she had. "This is delicious!"

Katie smiled. "Thank you!"

"Can I have one?" Hikaru blurted out, shutting his mouth quickly after he had said so.

Katie stared at him for a couple of seconds before smiling. "Sure, Hikaru." She placed the cupcake in his limp hand carefully. "Here."

Hikaru smiled at her, his cheeks painted a faint pink. "Thank you." He used his good hand to take the cupcake and took a bite from it, getting cream all over his face.

Katie giggled. "Hikaru, your face…"

The other guests and Kaoru giggled as they noticed this.

Hikaru blushed. "Oops…"

Katie handed him a napkin. "Try not to get cream all over your face, please."

Hikaru nodded as he placed the cupcake in his limp hand and used his good hand to take the napkin and wipe his face. "Thank you, Katie."

"It's alright." She gave him a soft, caring smile.

Kaoru glanced over at Hikaru, who was still wiping his face, before smiling at Katie. "So, are you doing anything next week, Katie?"

Katie shook her head. "Just studying, unfortunately."

Hikaru frowned. "How is that unfortunate?"

Katie's face fell slightly. _So they've forgotten, then…_ "No reason." She sighed. "Well, I have to go to serve the other tables. Would you like some tea before I go?"

"No, I can pour the tea," Kaoru said. "We're fine."

Hikaru nodded in agreement, although he noticed the sad look on Katie's face. "Yeah, Kaoru has two working arms. We'll be alright."

Katie gave them a small smile. "Okay, then." She moved all the items from her tray onto the table. "Enjoy yourselves!" she said cheerfully before quickly walking back to the kitchen to get more supplies.

Hikaru frowned slightly. "What's up with her?"

"Huh?" Kaoru frowned at his brother. "What do you mean?"

"Katie… she looked sad…"

Kaoru smirked. "Only you would notice that, Hikaru."

Hikaru blushed a little. "What are you trying to say?"

Kaoru just chuckled. "Nothing, nothing…" He grinned. "Would you like some tea, dear brother of mine?"

Hikaru smiled before looking over at the girls. "Kao, where are your manners? Serve the ladies first!"

* * *

Kaoru sighed as he limped over to Kyoya. "Hey, Kyoya?"

Kyoya looked up from his little black notebook. "Kaoru? Aren't you meant to be sitting?"

Kaoru smiled and shrugged. "My legs started to feel uncomfortable, so I wanted to walk around for a little bit." He frowned. "Did Katie leave early?"

Kyoya nodded. "She said she felt a little tired and that she had a lot of studying to do." He frowned. "Of course, she could be planning for her birthday…"

"Her birthday?" Kaoru frowned. "When's her birthday?"

"On the seventeenth."

Kaoru frowned. "That's next week!"

Kyoya nodded.

Kaoru frowned at him. "Aren't we going to plan anything for her?"

"Why should we?"

"Hikaru is bound to ask."

"Ask what?" Hikaru walked over to the pair, messing up his hair slightly with his good hand. He looked around and frowned slightly. "Katie left?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

Kaoru and Kyoya shared a look before turning back to Hikaru. "She's planning her birthday."

"Birthday?!" Hikaru stared at them in shock. "When's her birthday?"

"The seventeenth."

"What?! Why did I not know about this?!" Hikaru's mind went into overdrive. "We've got to throw her a party! Buy presents, a cake... the theme should be green! She loves green! And purple! And she loves chocolate cake! And mint chocolate chip ice cream! And—"

"Hikaru!" Kaoru interrupted.

Hikaru stopped talking immediately. "Yes, Kao?"

"We're not throwing her a party."

"Why not?" Hikaru whined.

"We don't have the budget," Kyoya sighed. "And even if we did, don't you think it would be a waste of money?"

"Katie's birthday party would not be a waste of money!" Hikaru growled.

Both Kaoru's and Kyoya's eyebrows rose.

"Hikaru, calm down," Kaoru said, putting a hand on his older brother's shoulder. "It's just a party. We don't even know if she wants one anyway."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay, okay…" He took a deep, calming breath before giving Kaoru a small smile. "I'm calm now."

Kaoru smiled. "Your temper's getting better. I was beginning to think it had gotten worse when you got into that fight…"

Hikaru shrugged. "Maybe it did…"

"So, how are you two feeling?" Kyoya asked as he wrote in his notebook.

Hikaru shrugged. "I spent a week in England with my arm in a sling, then we came back and I spent another whole week with my arm in a sling and ended up staying in bed. And now I've spent a whole week in school with my arm in a sling, so, all in all, I've been doing pretty well with my injury."

"I did pretty much the same as Hikaru," Kaoru explained. "I just wasn't able to do as much because of my leg."

"That's good." Kyoya looked at his watch. "Shouldn't you two be getting home now?"

Hikaru nodded. "Come on, Kao." He headed over to the door.

Kaoru smiled. "I'm coming." He limped over to the door, following his brother. "Bye, everyone!"

Tamaki smiled and waved at the twins. "Goodbye! We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he sat at his desk, thinking over how to complete his homework. Or, he was _supposed_ to be thinking over it. Instead, his mind kept drifting off to what he'd spoken about with Kyoya and Kaoru.

_Katie's birthday._

He chewed on the end of his pencil. _How are we meant to celebrate her birthday?_ He grabbed a spare sheet of paper from the end of his desk and started doodling on it absentmindedly.

"Hikaru?"

Hikaru span in this chair to see his brother standing at his bedroom door, leaning on his crutches. "Kaoru? What are you doing there?"

Kaoru shrugged. "I was coming to see how well you were doing on your _French_ homework."

Hikaru rolled his eyes at Kaoru. "Now you come to see how well I'm doing?"

Kaoru smirked. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm struggling, Kaoru. It's French, for goodness' sake! It's all a load of mumbo jumbo to me! I can't get my head around it! It was hard enough me learning English, but now French? I can't do this, Kaoru. I just can't. Math, Chemistry and Physics I can do, but French? Nope. No way." He slammed his pencil down onto his desk.

Kaoru laughed. "You're thinking about Katie's birthday, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Hikaru, there's nothing we can do. Kyoya's refused to throw her a party already. You and I both know that."

Hikaru groaned. "Well, can't just you and I throw her a party and invite the Host Club?"

"How do you know she even wants a party?"

Hikaru paused. _I don't have an answer to that. I… I just do…_ He shrugged.

Kaoru smiled. "Come on, Hikaru. Forget about the party and let me help you with your French."

"Can't I just copy your answers?"

"No." Kaoru limped over to the bed. "I'm helping you. That's all."

Hikaru smirked. "Worth a shot."

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked into the Host Club after school. It had been a week since she found out that the twins had forgotten her birthday, and now there was only one day left before she turned seventeen. She was greeted by smiles from Tamaki and Kyoya as she walked over to the Host Club changing rooms and changed into her serving outfit for the day. As she tied her apron on, she heard the familiar sound of crutches entering the changing rooms.

"_Come on, Kaoru. Not even one more penny?_"

"_No. We've spent a whole load already, Hikaru. One more penny is one penny too much._"

"_For goodness' sake, Kaoru. You're so stingy with your money._"

"_**Our**__ money, Hikaru._"

"_Fine, then. __**Our**__ money. You're so stingy with __**our**__ money, Kaoru. Jeez, it's only a present._"

"_You want to spend all the money we have on that present._"

Katie frowned and pulled back the changing room curtain. "Present? For who?"

The twins froze. "Our mother."

Katie's face fell. "Oh. Okay."

Kaoru smiled at her and limped over to one of the changing rooms, leaving Hikaru behind with Katie.

"Uh…" Hikaru laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "So… how has your day been?"

Katie gave him a small smile. "Pretty good, I guess."

Hikaru smiled back. "That's good, then."

Katie nodded. "Yeah…"

The pair stood there for a while, feeling extremely awkward around each other.

"It's my birthday tomorrow," Katie blurted out, looking down at the floor once she had said so.

Hikaru smiled. "Well, then, happy birthday for tomorrow."

Katie blushed. "Thanks."

"So, are you doing anything for your birthday, tomorrow? Do you have anything planned?"

Katie shook her head. "My mum said she was going to take us out to a restaurant tomorrow for my birthday, but then she found out that she has to work late, so I'm stuck at home alone with my sister."

"Oh, okay." Hikaru suddenly felt a little awkward around her again. "Well, I have to get changed now, so…"

"Yeah…" Katie said, finally looking up at Hikaru. "You better go before Tamaki gets mad."

Hikaru shrugged. "Milord will get over it. He's like that."

Katie smiled and nodded. "Well, it's best not to take any chances. Go and get dressed."

"Yes ma'am." Hikaru gave her one last smile before walking into Kaoru's changing room and helping his brother to get dressed.

Katie sighed. _Those boys are inseparable._ She walked out of the changing room area just as Haruhi entered it, and the two girls smiled at each other before going their separate ways.

"Katie?"

Katie paused on her way to the kitchen and looked over to Kyoya, who had called her name. "Yes, O Shadow King?"

"Don't call me that."

"Yes sir."

"I'll need you to go out and buy some more supplies," Kyoya said as he noted down something in his notebook. "We're out of coffee and tea."

Katie frowned. "The commoner types?"

"Yes. We may also need some commoner's sugar."

Katie nodded. "Alright. Anything else?"

Kyoya nodded. "I'll need you to pick up a cake for us from a bakery we know. If you tell them that it is Ootori's order, they should know what cake to give you."

Katie nodded, a little suspicious. "Alright, then…" She took off her apron, revealing the jeans and t-shirt she wore underneath. "Can I have the money?"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her. "Excuse me?"

"What, you didn't actually think I was going to pay for it on my own, did you?" she held out her hand for the money.

Kyoya sighed and handed her the money. "Take it and go. Now preferably."

Katie nodded and headed out of the room.

As soon as she left, all the Host Club members came out. Hikaru and Kaoru were fully changed into smart casual dress and had their hair spiked up, and Haruhi was wearing a shirt with a pair of dark jeans. Tamaki was wearing a shirt with a tie and black trousers, and Hunny and Mori both wore shirts with jeans trousers. Kyoya looked up at them.

"Begin the preparations."

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked into the supermarket with the huge wad of cash in her pocket. She really didn't want to be there. She just wanted to be at the Host Club, serving, or at home sleeping.

She walked through to where the tea and coffee was before shoving them into the basket she held. She was about to head over to the sugar when she saw an old lady further down the aisle, attempting to grab something from the top shelf.

"Uh, excuse me?" Katie asked, catching the old woman's attention. "Do you need help?" _I'm not much taller, but I think I can reach._

The old woman smiled at her. "Thank you, young lady."

Katie smiled and reached for the item, getting it for her and handing it over. "Here you go, ma'am."

The old woman smiled. "I am very grateful."

"It's no problem," Katie said as she headed over to the sugar. She frowned when she felt someone staring at her, and turned around, only to find a couple of men doing some shopping. She stared at them before shrugging. _They're probably brothers…_ She picked up two large packets of sugar before heading over to the tills. She frowned when she felt some pairs of eyes on her again.

_I'm being stalked._

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he tried to hang up the decorations with one hand. "Guys, a little help here?"

Haruhi sighed and dragged a stool over to him before climbing onto it and helping him to hang up the decorations. "Hikaru, you don't have to do this."

"No, I want to help set up Katie's birthday party."

"Hikaru…"

"I'm ditching customers today to throw her this party. I'm going to help set up this party."

Haruhi saw the determined look in his eyes and smiled. "You really like her, don't you?"

Hikaru stopped what he was doing before he gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I do."

Haruhi smiled. "You should ask her out."

Hikaru blushed and shook his head. "Maybe another time. Later. Way later. When I feel ready."

Haruhi nodded. "In your own time."

Hikaru sighed. "How long is Katie going to take?" he asked as he finished with the decorations. "We should be ready, right?"

"My men are keeping an eye on her," Kyoya said. "Don't worry."

* * *

"Stay away from me! Help! Rape!"

The two men ran away from the screaming redheaded girl that stood outside the bakery, holding shopping bags. _This girl was scary…_

Katie smiled as she watched the two men scamper off. _They may be Kyoya's guards, but they're as wimpy as heck._ She turned and walked into the bakery, straight up to the till. The shop was surprisingly empty considering the time of day it was. _Wouldn't students usually come in here to get something small to eat?_

As she approached the till, she felt another pair of eyes on her and quickly turned around to glare at whoever was there… only to find it was Becky. She frowned as her sister walked into the store. "Becky? What are you doing here?"

Becky smiled. "Hikaru called me! He said that they wanted some extra help at the Host Club tonight and that you were doing some shopping, so I should come and help you!"

Katie groaned. _What on earth are those nutters planning now…?_ "Fine."

"He also said I should get the cake." Becky grinned.

Katie frowned. "Alright, then…" She headed over to the till. "An order for Ootori?"

The woman at the till nodded before going to the back to fetch the cake.

Becky stood beside Katie. "Go and stand outside."

"What?"

"Go. And. Stand. Outside."

Katie's eyes widened and she nodded, slightly fearful for her life. She handed Becky the money for the cake before she walked out of the store quickly and stood outside.

She sighed as she leaned against the store window and frowned.

Something was going on.

And she was going to find out.

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he sat down on the couch. "Have you got the cake yet?" he asked into the phone.

"_I'm getting it now. Jeez, calm down._"

Hikaru sighed. Katie's sister could be so annoying… "Hurry up. We're all set up back here."

"_Okay._" The call ended.

Hikaru shoved his mobile phone back into his pocket and twiddled his thumbs nervously. He was excited about this, yeah, but he was nervous too. _How am I meant to give her the birthday present?_

Kaoru noticed his brother's nervousness and put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Hikaru. Everything's gonna be fine."

"I know, I know, it's just…" He paused. How was he meant to tell his brother that he'd actually gone ahead and gotten her another birthday present, against his wishes?

"It's just…?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

"I got her another present," Hikaru muttered.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru exclaimed. "I thought we agreed not to spend any more money on her last night?"

"I know, I know… but it just looked so pretty in the store…" Hikaru put his head in his hands. "I thought it would look even _prettier_ on her…"

Kaoru sighed. "You know, I'd forgive you if you two were actually _dating_."

Hikaru blushed. "You know I can't ask her that."

"And why not?"

"What if she rejects me?"

Kaoru sighed again. "Well, you'll never know until you try."

Hikaru sighed. "Maybe later."

"That's what you always say!"

"Meh."

"I think they're here!" Haruhi called out from where she stood by the window.

Tamaki ran over and joined her. "They're here! Quick, men – hide!"

Haruhi gave him a blank look. "So what am I meant to do? Just stand here?"

Hikaru snorted. "Milord's being sexist again…"

* * *

"So I can't even see the cake?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because."

Katie pouted. "You're so mean to me."

Becky just shrugged. "So what?" Suddenly, her eyes widened as they walked down the Host Club corridor. "Katie, is my phone in my right pocket?"

Katie frowned and looked down, shaking her head. "Nope."

"Crap. I think I dropped it somewhere down the corridor. Can you look for it for me please?"

Katie sighed. "Why don't you do it? It's your phone."

"But then mum will tell me off!"

"So?"

"And then I'm gonna be all upset and you and Hikaru are going to suffer because you're both gonna have to play Yu-Gi-Oh with me whenever I want and then you all have to lose against me to keep me at least a little bit happy otherwise I'll be depressed and—"

"Alright, alright!" Katie huffed. "Do you think you can carry the shopping for me then? They'll need it."

Becky nodded and carried the cake and the shopping over to Music Room 3. "I'll see you in there, yeah?"

Katie nodded. "Okay." She headed back down the corridor to search for her sister's 'lost' phone.

Little did she know that Becky kept the phone in her _left_ pocket.

* * *

"So you've got the cake?"

"Yeah."

"And the food?"

"Yeah."

"So where's the ginge?"

Becky paused. "She's looking for my phone."

"Don't you have it?" Kaoru asked.

"I do."

"Then why is she looking for it?"

"I lied to her."

Hikaru smirked. "You evil little thing."

Becky just grinned. "And that's my specialty."

Haruhi just took the cake, whilst Tamaki and Mori took the shopping supplies to the kitchen. Hikaru looked over at Kyoya.

"Did your men get all the commoner's party foods?" he asked.

Kyoya nodded. "They should arrive soon. Are the windows open?"

Hunny jumped up onto the windowsills and unlocked them. "They are now." He looked out of the window. "And I can see your men, too!"

Hikaru gave a relived sigh when he saw a ladder appear at the window, and Becky and Hunny helped to bring in the packets of crisps and biscuits that were being delivered.

Kaoru smiled. "Are we all ready, then?"

Hikaru nodded before pulling out his phone and dialing Katie's number. "Hello… hey… yeah… Becky found her phone… yeah… hehe… okay, see ya!" He ended the call. "She's on her way here. She has to come from all the way on the other side of the school." He sent a glance at Becky.

Becky grinned. "I did my job too well."

* * *

Katie huffed as she walked down to corridor to the Host Club. So Becky had tricked her? _Annoying little baka of a sister… no more Yu-Gi-Oh for her._ She sighed when she finally reached the door, and frowned when she realized how quiet it was. _No customers today?_ She slowly pushed the door open…

Only to find the room was dark.

She frowned. _What's going on?_ "Hello?" She reached for the switch beside the door and flicked it.

"_SURPRISE!_"

Katie jumped when she heard the loud cry, squeezing her eyes shut when she felt confetti falling on her head. She frowned. _Green and purple?_ She looked up.

The room was set up so that the couches were pushed to the edges of the room. In the middle of the room stood two tables, both with party food such as onion rings, crisps and biscuits covering them. Especially _Jammy Dodgers_.

And there was another table that stood in between the two tables, that had a _huge_ cake covered in white, green and purple frosting.

Green and purple decorations hung around the room, and there was one huge banner that said, "_Happy birthday Katie!_"

Katie grinned.

_So they had remembered._

"Happy birthday, Katie!" The Host Club and Becky exclaimed, all of them grinning at her.

Katie smiled. "Thank you!" She ran up to the twins and hugged them. "You remembered!"

Hikaru smiled. "Of course we did, Katie! How could we forget?"

Katie turned to look at Haruhi.

"They forgot," Haruhi stated.

Everyone else laughed as Hikaru and Kaoru blushed lightly.

"Hmph." The twins said simultaneously.

* * *

_Knock knock knock._

Katie sighed. _Who would knock at this time on a Saturday morning?_

It was her birthday today. The Host Club had thrown her an amazing party the day before, inviting all of the guests as well and making sure she had a great time. They had even bought her favourite biscuits ever – Jammy Dodgers! And there had been fizzy drinks that even the Hosts had never tried before.

Katie walked up to the front door when she heard knocking again. "Alright, I'm coming!" She opened it.

Hikaru stood there, his hands behind his back. He smiled. "Happy birthday!"

Katie smiled. _That's sweet of him…_ "Thank you, Hikaru. Did you come all the way over here just to say that?"

Hikaru shook his head, slightly shy. "N-no. Actually… I… uh…" He blushed. "I came to give you your birthday present."

Katie frowned. "Didn't you and Kaoru give it to me yesterday?" she asked, referring to the personally designed dress she had received. "It was really nice, by the way."

Hikaru smiled and shook his head. "That was Kaoru's idea. This one is from me personally."

Katie nodded slowly. "Alright…"

Hikaru brought his hand from behind his back and revealed a black velvet box. "Happy birthday, Katie." He opened the box.

Katie gasped.

Inside the box lay a golden heart-shaped locket, with a flower design engraved into it. Each of the five small flowers had a small gem in them, three of them purple and two of them green. The locket was attached to a golden chain.

She reached forward and touched the locket carefully, as if it was fragile. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

Hikaru smiled. _Just like you._ "I thought you'd like it." He looked up at her shyly. "Would… would you like me to put it on for you?"

Katie nodded and turned around, still speechless. _He's acting like this is no big deal…_

Hikaru slowly took the necklace out of the box and opened the latch, giving Katie a small smile. He was shaking on the inside, nervous about what he was about to do. He'd never done anything like this for anyone in his life. He made sure his fingers weren't shaking as he brought the necklace around her neck and secured it at the back, bringing her hair out of the way afterwards. He smiled at how soft and curly it was.

Katie smiled and softly touched the locket at her neck. "I love it…"

Hikaru grinned. "I'm glad you do." He resisted the urge to kiss her cheek as he stepped away. "So… I'll see you on Monday?"

Katie nodded. "O-o-okay…"

Hikaru waved at her and gave a small lopsided smile as he headed away. "See ya—woah!" he cried as he tripped down the stairs on her porch.

Katie gasped. "Are you alright?"

Hikaru blushed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He smiled at her. "See ya!" He raced off.

Katie just stared after him and smiled. "I love you," she whispered as she touched the locket.

* * *

**So, review! And Merry Christmas to you all!**


	7. New Student

**Hey, readers! I have another episode for you! I hope you enjoy it, readers!**

* * *

New Student

Katie sighed happily as she fingered the locket around her neck. Two weeks before, Hikaru had given her the locket for her birthday, and she hadn't been able to take it off since. Well, she could, but she didn't _want_ to. The locket was just too beautiful to take off and risk losing.

Haruhi smiled as she watched Katie finger the locket again. "So, who _exactly_ gave you the locket?"

Katie froze. "Uh, a friend. From England. It was mailed over."

Haruhi nodded with a knowing smile on her face. "Of course it was." She moved her seat so that she was sitting right at Katie's desk. "I know that was from Hikaru."

Katie blushed bright red. "R-r-really?"

Haruhi nodded. "To be honest, Hikaru would be the only person who would spend so much on something like this. Plus, he's the only person who knew your two favourite colours."

Katie continued to blush and turned away from Haruhi. She continued to fiddle with the locket quietly.

"Are there any pictures in it?"

Katie turned to Haruhi. "I… I don't know… I haven't opened it."

Haruhi frowned. "Why don't you?"

Katie shook her head. "I don't know why, but it won't feel right…"

Haruhi nodded. "Alright, then." She sighed. "Did you do the math homework?" she asked.

Katie nodded. "Hikaru helped me."

Haruhi nodded. "That's sweet of him," she grinned.

Katie blushed again. "Stop it, Haruhi!"

"I'm just saying that you two seem a little close to be just friends. Is there nothing between you two?"

Katie shook her head. "I'm sure of it. He just… tends to care for me a lot, like he cares for Kaoru."

"If you say so."

Hikaru and Kaoru entered the classroom and headed straight for where Katie and Haruhi sat. "Hey, girls," they greeted with smiles on their faces.

Katie smiled at them. "Hey, Hikaru! Hey Kaoru!"

Haruhi smiled at both boys. "Hey, how are you two today?"

Hikaru grinned at Katie. "We're great! How about you two?"

Katie smiled back at him. "I'm fine, thanks."

Haruhi smiled. "I am as well, even though you don't seem to be looking at me."

Hikaru blushed faintly. "Sorry…"

Kaoru grabbed the nearest chair to him and pulled it over to the table, sitting down on it. "Boy, walking with crutches is hard work…"

"It looks difficult," Katie noted. "But I guess you have to be fit to be able to use them as much as you do."

Kaoru shrugged. "At home, Hikaru does most of my stuff for me."

Hikaru nodded. "Like the midnight glasses of water," he muttered, slightly annoyed. "Why do you have to get up for a drink at 2am?" he asked Kaoru.

Kaoru shrugged. "My body just does that."

Haruhi interrupted before Hikaru could start a fight with his brother. "Hey, did you hear about the new transfer student?" she asked them.

The twins nodded.

Katie frowned. "What new transfer student?" she asked. "I never heard of this. Why am I only finding out now?"

"Kyoya told us," the twins said simultaneously. "He was looking through her personal profile and commenting on how useful she could be to the Host Club if we got her to join."

Katie frowned. "What if she doesn't want to join?" she asked.

"We thought you didn't want to be alone?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, but I don't want to put anyone through the torture I've been through."

The twins stared at her, slightly insulted. "Hey!"

Haruhi nodded. "Katie's got a point. But I think we need this new girl at the club."

Katie sighed. "Fine."

"The club is meeting her when she comes in tomorrow morning, so you'll need to be there to greet her as her fellow waitress."

Katie grimaced. "Gods, Haruhi, you sound like Kyoya."

Haruhi just stared at Katie. "Never say that again."

The small group of friends laughed.

"So, Hikaru, the locket you bought Katie for her birthday was really nice…" Haruhi said, grinning when both of the redheads blushed.

"Well… I saw it in the shop… as I walked past… and… well…" Hikaru's face had become a colour that matched his hair. "I thought she'd like it," he rushed out, embarrassed.

Katie just gave him a small smile. "I do…"

Some girls on another table started squealing at the scene unfolding, and both Katie and Hikaru blushed before turning their heads away. This. Was. Not. Happening. They did not have crushes on each other.

Katie huffed and glared slightly at Hikaru. "Can't you tell your fangirls to go bother someone else?" she asked, slightly peeved that their moment had been ruined.

Hikaru glared back at her. "It's not as if I control them. It would go against my rules as a host to push them away."

"You have rules?"

Hikaru just glared at her. "Baka."

"Orokana."

Hikaru continued to glare at her.

Haruhi sighed. "You know, now that they've seen this, they may request it at the club…"

"Don't jinx us!" both Katie and Hikaru exclaimed, causing Kaoru to burst out laughing.

"I think she already has…"

Katie groaned. "It's bad enough that I'm a waitress, but now I have to perform this love act as well?"

Hikaru felt his chest constrict slightly at what she said. _An act? This is all an act?_ He felt... hurt. "Yeah…" he agreed, although his voice betrayed how he felt.

Kaoru saw this and sighed. "So… did you guys manage to finish the Math homework?" he asked.

The other three nodded.

Kaoru sighed. "Can I copy your answers?"

Katie frowned at him. "You didn't do the Maths homework?"

"I didn't get it. It was confusing."

Hikaru frowned. "Math isn't confusing, Kaoru…"

"Hikaru, you know Math isn't my strongest subject. Just like French isn't yours."

Hikaru glared slightly at his brother. "Did you have to bring that up?"

"Yes."

Before Hikaru could argue back, the teacher entered the classroom. "Okay, class, to your seats, please." He walked up to the blackboard and started writing down the lesson plan.

Kaoru sighed. "Someone help me up?"

Hikaru nodded and stood up, using his good arm to help his brother to his feet. "You alright now?"

Kaoru nodded and limped over to his seat, which just so happened to be furthest away. Hikaru and Haruhi left next, leaving Katie at her desk.

She sighed. Hopefully the Host Club would be alright tonight.

* * *

Of course, Haruhi had in fact jinxed the two when she had said what she had said that morning.

"I hear from outside sources that some of our guests have spotted one of our hosts flirting with our waitress," Kyoya said, sending a glance at Katie and Hikaru.

The pair gulped. _Oh crud… what is he going to get us to do now…_

"I need you to somewhat keep up the act during club time."

"What?" they exclaimed.

"You mean that as well as the brotherly love act, I have to flirt with the waitress?" Hikaru asked.

"It shouldn't be too hard," Kyoya said. "You seem to do it enough already."

Hikaru flushed a bright red. "Do not!"

Haruhi nodded. "Yes you do."

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "She even responds."

It was Katie's turn to blush. "I respond?"

"You smile like you know what he's doing."

"What?!"

Hunny smirked, knowing what Kaoru was getting at. "I think it would be a good way for Hika-chan and Katie-chan to bond and become good friends."

"No." The two looked at each other before quickly looking away. "We won't do it."

"I'll give you a raise," Kyoya offered Katie.

Katie paused and thought about it. "Twenty percent increase?"

"Fifteen."

"Eighteen."

"Seventeen."

"Deal."

Hikaru stared at her, mouth agape. "You made a deal with _him_? How could you make a deal with _him_?"

"Hey, I'm getting a raise." She shrugged. "I'm gonna benefit from this - I'm getting paid."

Hikaru sighed. "I'm not gaining from this…"

"You'll get more customers."

Hikaru frowned. "How is that gaining?"

Katie shrugged. "It just is."

He huffed. "Fine. We'll do it."

Kyoya's glasses glinted. "Good choice." He started writing in his black notebook. "You two will start today."

"Won't this interfere with the brotherly love act?" Katie asked.

Kyoya sent her a look.

"Wait, is it supposed to?" She frowned. "Are Kaoru and I meant to be rivals?"

Kaoru frowned. "Hey! No fair! I have to compete for Hikaru!"

"Yes, you do." Kyoya checked his watch. "It seems as if it is time for our customers to arrive. Hurry up."

Katie and Hikaru sighed. Oh, today was going to be fun…

* * *

"Hikaru, we saw you flirting with the waitress earlier on…"

"What? Is that true, Hikaru?"

"How could I ever love someone other than you, Kaoru?"

Katie walked over to the group. "Hikaru, I brought your tea... OW!" she squealed as she burnt her hand on the teapot as she out it down on the table.

Hikaru gasped and took her hand in his, immediately putting his lips to her wound.

Katie whimpered. "It hurts, Hikaru…"

"It's okay, Katie." He kissed the wound gently. "Someone fetch her some ice!" he called out, smiling slightly when he saw Haruhi run to the kitchen to get some ice and a towel before returning to the group. She handed Hikaru the towel and the ice.

Hikaru took the towel and ice before wrapping the ice in the towel. He quickly pulled Katie onto his lap and hugged her to his chest, applying the ice to her wound.

Katie whimpered slightly. "Hikaru…"

"Shhh…" he hushed her. "You'll be alright, now…" On the outside, he seemed as if he was the one comforting Katie, but on the inside he was panicking. The fact that he was so close to Katie set off all sorts of feelings in his body that he was finding hard to control… like the sudden urge to kiss her…

Katie nodded, her head laying against his chest. She felt so comfortable in that position. She didn't want to move. But the glare on Kaoru's face suggested she should do otherwise. "Hikaru, I cannot stay… I have to serve the other guests…"

"Then let's cherish the moment we have together," Hikaru whispered into her ear, causing her to shudder slightly.

The customers squealed at the act, soaking it all in. Kaoru glared at the pair.

"Hikaru!" he snapped.

His brother looked over at him. "Can you not see that I am busy, Kaoru?"

"Stop it, Hika!" Kaoru attempted to snuggle up to him. "You're _my_ brother…"

Katie pushed herself off Hikaru. "I must leave now, Hikaru…"

Hikaru caressed her cheek. "Be back soon…"

The fangirls squealed, whilst Kaoru glared.

"Don't come back," he growled.

Katie just stared at Kaoru for a moment before getting up and walking off with her tray.

Kaoru glared at his brother. "I thought it was just the two of us, Hikaru?"

"It is!" Hikaru said.

"Not from what I saw…"

"How about I make it up to you?"

Kaoru frowned. "How?"

Hikaru smirked and leaned into his brother's face. "I'll play punishment games when we get home…"

Kaoru blushed and looked away from his brother. "Hikaru…"

The fangirls squealed again, and Hikaru smirked.

_Maybe this would work out…_

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked out of her house the next morning. The previous day at the Host Club had been very… eventful. Hikaru had literally spent the whole day groping her arse and flirting with her, and the amount of times she had received glares from Kaoru was phenomenal. She'd spent almost the whole day blushing as Hikaru touched her in places that she really didn't want him to touch. That meant her hips, of course…

_Still, he hasn't kissed me yet…_

She blushed as she remembered him wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as she fetched the tea and coffee, whispering words that she had clearly forgotten into her ear. As she was thinking, she stumbled over what seemed to be a plank of wood. She frowned and looked down, only to find a knocked-over 'SOLD' sign.

_New neighbour? Cool._

She shouldered her bag more comfortably as she headed along the path to Ouran Academy, using the path she had been using for the past eight months or so. She sighed. It was on days like these that she was glad she wore her own clothes and changed at school. She quickly walked to the Academy before heading over to the Third Music Room. When she arrived, Kyoya and Tamaki had already arrived and they were waiting.

"Katie!" Tamaki stood up with his arms wide open.

Katie rolled her eyes at him and ignored him, walking straight over to the changing rooms. "I'll be in here if anyone needs me."

Kyoya nodded disinterestedly as he wrote in his notebook. "Alright, then."

Tamaki pouted. "Mommy! She ignored me!"

"Oh, suck it up."

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he walked into the Third Music Room with Kaoru in tow. "Hey, guys," he greeted as he walked in. "We're here."

Tamaki grinned. "Hello! Hello!"

Kaoru rolled his eyes at him as he limped over to one of the couches. "Hi."

Hikaru followed his brother. "Where's Katie? Isn't she here yet?"

"She's in the changing rooms," Kyoya said absentmindedly. "She's getting ready."

Hikaru nodded. "Okay." He ruffled Kaoru's hair affectionately. "I'll be back in a minute."

Kaoru nodded. "Alright." He smiled at Hikaru and watched as his brother walked towards the changing rooms. "Did you say Katie was changing in there?"

Kyoya nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"Hikaru just went over there."

Both Tamaki's and Kyoya's eyes widened. _Oh boy…_

* * *

Katie pulled off her t-shirt. The only reason why she was taking so long to change was because it had taken ages to get her school dress out of her bag, meaning that she was spending most of her time taking the dress out. Once she had finally taken the dress out, she'd already spent about ten minutes in there. She quickly pulled off her t-shirt, trainers and jeans.

"Katie?"

She froze. _What the…?_ She quickly tried to reach for her dress as she took off her last trainer and tripped.

"Katie? Are you in here?"

"Huh?" Katie called out.

Hikaru walked through the hall before pulling apart her changing room curtains and freezing.

Katie turned around, only wearing her bra, knickers and socks, and gasped, trying to cover herself up with her hands, but failed. Her face went beet red. "Hikaru!"

Hikaru blushed a deep red and stared at her in complete and utter shock before squeaking and closing his eyes, covering his face. "S-s-sorry!" He moved his hand and pulled the curtain closed quickly, embarrassed beyond measure. He opened his eyes slowly. _What the hell had he just seen?_

About five minutes later, Katie drew back the curtains dressed in her dress and shoes. Her hair was slightly messy, and her face was still a bit pink. "Did you want something, Hikaru?" she asked.

Hikaru stammered something unintelligible before shaking his head quickly, going red again. _Bra… knickers… half-naked…_ Dirty thoughts ran through his head that gave him feelings he had never felt with a girl before… He gulped when he saw her in the dress, only seeing what he'd seen not long before.

Katie sighed. "Well, would you mind helping me zip up my dress?" she asked innocently, the rest of her blush fading.

Hikaru nodded, unable to speak.

Katie smiled at him and turned around, showing him where the zipper was on her dress.

Hikaru blushed again when he saw her bare back. _Why am I feeling like this?_ He reached forward and shakily zipped up her dress, letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He gave a small smile. "Done," he squeaked, frowning when he heard his voice.

Katie smirked. "Thank you." She walked back into the changing room and grabbed her hairbrush, starting to brush her hair.

Hikaru watched her. "Do you want me to help you?" he asked suddenly, blushing at her.

Katie smiled at him before handing him the hairbrush. "Yeah, sure."

Hikaru smiled and took the hairbrush before beginning to brush her hair, straightening it out. "You know, your hair is really soft."

"Thanks." Katie smiled. "I washed it this morning."

"It smells nice too."

Katie blushed. "Thank you."

"You know, you should have it straight sometime," Hikaru said. "I think it would look really nice on you."

Katie blushed even darker. "Hehe... one of my friends said that once…"

Hikaru continued to brush her hair, making it straighter in the process. "Well, they were right."

"It was Andrea."

"Really?"

Katie nodded, which made Hikaru frown.

"Don't nod. I'm trying to do your hair."

Katie giggled lightly, her face going slightly red as she thought of what he said.

Hikaru frowned at her. "What's so funny?"

"How do you 'do' hair?"

Hikaru just stared at her blankly before his face flamed red. "I… I didn't…" Thoughts from earlier returned, and he desperately tried to get them out of his head before something went wrong. "Katie…" he whined.

Katie just grinned. "Sorry."

"You're so dirty."

"You're no cleaner. I mean, what exactly went through your head when you saw me half-naked?"

Hikaru's face was now beet red. "You don't need or want to know…" he muttered.

Katie's eyes widened slightly. "Uh… I think my hair is fine now." She pulled away from him quickly and took her hairbrush. "Thanks, though."

Hikaru gave her a small smile. "It's alright." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm… really sorry about… you know…" He went bright red.

Katie shrugged slightly as she put her stuff away. "It's… alright, I guess. I mean, you didn't see me naked…"

Hikaru blushed. "Thank god for that…"

Katie smiled as she closed her bag. "Shall we head back now?" she asked.

Hikaru nodded and opened the curtains. "After you."

Katie smiled at him sweetly. "Thank you." She walked past him. "And you know the act yesterday? I think you lathered it on a bit too thick for my liking."

Hikaru blushed faintly, but shrugged. "The guests didn't notice."

"Could you at least calm it down a little? You gave me all that attention for a tiny burn on my finger."

"Sure." He followed her out of the changing rooms back to the main club room.

Once the pair arrived, they found that every other member of the Host Club was sitting there, staring at them. Two of them had looks of confusion on their faces, whilst the other four looked highly amused.

Hikaru just stared back, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment. "What?"

"What were you two doing back there?" Haruhi asked.

"I heard a scream," Kaoru added, a smirk on his face.

Katie blushed. "I was getting changed, and Hikaru was helping me."

"Did he walk in on you?" Kyoya asked.

Katie blushed even darker. "None of your business."

"As Host Club President and King—" Tamaki started.

"Self-proclaimed King," the twins corrected.

Tamaki glared at them. "As I was saying, it's my right to know everything that's going on around here!"

Katie raised an eyebrow at him. "So did you know that Kyoya was planning to get the new girl to join the Host Club?"

Tamaki froze before he started ranting. "KYOYA HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING? THIS GIRL COULD BE SO INNOCENT AND COULD HATE US FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

"I'm merely attempting, Tamaki," Kyoya stated. "If she doesn't want to, she won't."

"I smell blackmail," Katie muttered.

Hikaru and Kaoru sniggered.

"Blackmail? What the hell?"

The whole group turned to see the new student at the door. She was of average height for a girl, wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt, rather than the school dress, with a pair of trainers. She wore a pair of plain black glasses, and her hair was done up in curly extensions that were tied back into a ponytail. She was shouldering a red rucksack. However, the thing that struck the Host Club most about her was the fact that she was black… well, everyone but Kyoya…

Katie continued to stare at the girl in shock. "I can't believe it…"

Hunny frowned. "Can't believe what, Katie-chan?"

Hikaru and Kaoru continued to stare at her. "Andrea-san?!"

* * *

"Name: Andrea Josy Mante, aged seventeen, born in South London and previously lived in Harlow, Essex."

"Just like Katie-chan!"

"Yup."

"She's a straight-A student, with her strongest subjects being Chemistry and Math. She is 5'6" tall and weighs…"

"Say my weight and I will cut off your balls."

The whole club turned to stare at Andrea in shock.

Kyoya just raised an eyebrow. "Do you really know who you're threatening?"

"Kyoya Ootori, Class 3A, third son of the infamous Ootori family that has business in medicine. You're best friends with Tamaki Suoh, although it is highly likely you would deny it, and you want to go into business rather than follow your brothers' footsteps. You also like to threaten people with your family's secret police, and this kind of ruins the point of them being 'secret'." Andrea just smiled innocently at him. "Anything that I missed?"

Kyoya was fuming, although it didn't show.

"He's the Shadow King," Hikaru said.

Kaoru was grinning.

Kyoya sighed and wrote in his small black notebook.

"Are you writing how annoying I am?"

His pen snapped.

Haruhi gaped. "I've seen him annoyed, but I've never seen his pen snap…"

"She's more annoying than Milord," the twins noted. "…That's impossible…"

"If I've done it then it's clearly possible," Andrea pointed out. "Rules of science. Your hypothesis has been proven wrong."

"Aha, but the results must be repeated," Katie pointed out. "Otherwise the hypothesis still stands."

The twins were grinning. "Is she staying is she staying is she is she is she?"

Tamaki thought about it. "Well…"

"Please?"

Tamaki turned to Kyoya. "What does Mommy think?"

Kyoya sighed as he searched for another pen. "Well… if you insist…"

"Yay!" The twins wrapped their arms around Andrea. "Welcome to the Host Club, new waitress."

Andrea turned to glare at Katie. "What?"

Katie grinned. "Yay! No more forever alone!"

"I hate you."

"I love you too, biffle!"

* * *

"So, Kyoya says you have to teach me what to do…"

Katie nodded. "I have to be your tutor." She smirked. "Ironic, huh?"

Andrea nodded and smiled. "I'd usually tutor you…"

Katie nodded again as she loaded her tray with tea, biscuits and cupcakes. "That reminds me, I need some help with my French work…"

"Ginge, I don't even know what the syllabus is like… I need a couple of days first."

"Sure… but after those days can you help me?"

"Sure." Andrea looked down at what Katie was doing. "So, what am I meant to do?"

"You see the tables out there? We have to make sure that every one of them is kept stocked with food and drinks for the whole of Club time."

Andrea nodded. "You made the cupcakes?"

Katie nodded. "I'm not sure if they would like cookies, though…" She thought about it. "I think our next cosplay is casual commoners, though…"

Andrea smiled. "Casual commoners? Shouldn't we do gangsters or something like that instead?"

Katie shrugged. Her friend had a point, but… "Nah. It would be too much."

"So, what do we wear?"

Katie shrugged. "We just wear our casual clothes. You know, jeans, converse t-shirt. They have costumes to wear."

Andrea frowned. "What, do you mean they pay to wear what we wear every day?"

Katie nodded.

"What a waste."

"I know, right?"

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and the two girls turned to see Kyoya waiting for them at the door.

Katie nodded. "Right, we need to get the trays ready." She turned back to Andrea. "So, on each tray you take, you put a plate of biscuits, a tray of cupcakes and some tea with a small bowl of sugar," the redhead explained, showing Andrea what to do as she said so.

Andrea nodded. "And then we just take them to whatever table we want?"

"And then we take them to the table that requested them," she said. "Usually, when we get the food and drinks, it's because one of the Hosts or one of the customers asked us to fetch some for us. It's our job to make sure they're happy whilst they're with the Hosts."

Andrea nodded. "So we just serve them?"

"We're allowed to talk to them."

"But our main purpose is to serve them?"

"Yup."

Andrea pouted. "So I'm a waitress… will this go on my CV?"

Katie shrugged. "It should though."

Andrea gave Kyoya a pointed look. "Yes, Dark Lord with Low Blood Pressure, it should."

Kyoya sent her a glare. "Miss Mante, may I remind you that you are now working for me and that if I fire you, it will go on your CV?"

"Yes, you may."

Katie snorted. "There's Andrea, ever the witty one."

Andrea took the other tray that Katie had prepared. "It's inherited. Blame my parents."

Katie led herself and her best friend past the Shadow King and into the main club room, where all the hosts had customers at their tables.

"Right, so at this moment the only tables that needed the snacks were Haruhi's table and the twins' table," Katie explained. "Let's head to Haruhi's table first."

Andrea nodded and followed her best friend over to Haruhi's table.

One of the customers looked up at her. "Hello." She smiled at the black girl.

Andrea smiled back. "Hi." She set down the tray on the table and began to unload it.

The customer looked at her curiously. "Are you the new waitress?" she asked.

Andrea nodded.

Another customer looked her up and down. "I didn't think the new waitress would be… Afro-Caribbean…"

Andrea shrugged. "Well, I'm glad to surprise you." She smiled innocently at the customers.

The customers smiled back.

Haruhi just chuckled. "It's not every day that you get a witty waitress," she pointed out, smiling.

Andrea smiled back at them, happy to be welcomed here already.

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked over to the twins' table, dreading what would happen. Everyone _except_ Andrea knew about the tension between herself and Hikaru, although they all had different views on it. The Host Club all knew that it was an act, but everyone else thought it was real. She just hoped Andrea would be logical and join 'everyone' rather than bother her about it.

As she neared the table, she noticed something flash out of the corner of her eye. She turned around to look, only to find nothing was there. She frowned. "Huh?"

Andrea walked over to her with a tray in her hand. "Hey, Ginge, are you okay?"

Katie frowned but nodded. "I could've sworn I saw something…"

"Me?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "It wasn't you."

"Oh."

"It was something red…" Suddenly she lurched forwards, losing her balance and dropping the tray in front of her. She closed her eyes as she fell and was prepared to land on the floor… but it never came. She heard an "oof" as she landed on something fairly soft and felt something being wrapped around her.

When she opened her eyes, her blue eyes met a pair of amber ones… ones that held love and affection… which was strange…

She gasped. "Hikaru…?"

Hikaru smiled weakly at her. "Hey…" he croaked before he cleared his throat. "Hey, Katie. Have a nice trip?"

Katie blushed. "Kaoru pushed me, didn't he?" She tried to push herself off his chest, but his arms wrapped around her waist held him down.

Hikaru pulled her close to him. "Come on, Katie. We're meant to be flirting and this is how you treat me?" he whispered into her ear.

Katie looked directly into his eyes and blushed lightly. "Hika, let me go," she said.

"Why?"

She twirled her fingers on his chest. "I'll play with you later," she purred playfully.

Hikaru's eyes widened and he blushed, not sure whether she was acting or not. "O-o-okay, s-sure…" He let his arms linger around her waist for a little longer before letting her go.

Katie smiled at him before getting up and grabbing her tray. "Right. Kaoru! Where are you?!" She stormed off to find the younger Hitachiin twin.

Andrea watched the whole interaction with interest. "Are you sure that's an act?" she muttered to Haruhi.

Haruhi shrugged. "It's meant to be…"

"Well, that definitely wasn't." She looked over to where Hikaru was only just getting up. "That couldn't have been an act…"

Haruhi nodded. "I know…"

Andrea smirked. "Think we can get them together by the end of the semester?"

Haruhi smirked. "You bet."

* * *

**Ooooh... review!**


	8. Hikaru's Birthday

**Hey readers! I have your next epusode for you... right before we go back to school. I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**Oh, and I also thought I'd let you know that I won't updating this story as often anymore, and it's mainly because of my studies... I hope it doesn't upset you too much...**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Hikaru's Birthday

"Hikaru… Hikaru…?"

Hikaru groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over his head. _What_ _the_ _hell is it with you waking me up early,_ _Kaoru_?

"Hikaru…?" There was an indignant huff and some scuffling before the covers were pulled off him harshly.

Hikaru put his pillow over his head. He just wanted to sleep…

The pillow was pulled off. "_Hikaru_!"

Hikaru groaned. "What?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. He opened his eyes slightly to see Kaoru, Katie and Andrea standing next to his bed, grins wide on their faces before closing them. "What do you want at this ungodly hour?"

Katie sighed. "Hikaru, it's twelve in the afternoon."

"Hence the reason why I called it an ungodly hour," he grumbled before turning over. "Let me sleep."

"No," Andrea answered.

"Yes. Go away, idiots." He grabbed the spare pillow from beside him and tried to fall back asleep, using it to cover his head.

That was, until the bed started bouncing.

Hikaru groaned. "Okay, okay, I'm awake!" He opened his eyes to see the three Host Club members standing on his bed. He glared at them. "What do you want?"

"Happy birthday!" they exclaimed.

Hikaru rolled his eyes at them. "Oh goodie, you remembered."

Kaoru sat down on the bed. "Of course I remembered! It's my birthday too!" He grinned at his big brother. "And you know you didn't get me a birthday present? Well, I don't mind, because for my birthday, I just want to have a fun day with you!"

Hikaru glared up at them. "Do you know what I want for my birthday?" he asked.

The trio shook their heads, their faces looking confused.

"Sleep." Hikaru turned away from them and closed his eyes, hoping to fall back asleep and continue with his birthday rest.

Katie pouted at the redheaded boy. "Oh, come on, Hikaru…" She sat down beside him and leaned close to his face.

Hikaru huffed and opened his eyes, trying desperately to ignore how close Katie was to him and forced down his blush. "Do you know how late I stayed up last night to finish off homework?" he asked her, his breath hitting her lips and forcing her to blush lightly.

Andrea frowned. "It was the French, wasn't it?" she asked, knowing his academic weakness.

Hikaru sighed and nodded as Katie moved away. "The stupid language won't go into my head…" He pouted.

"Well, enough about homework." Kaoru patted his brother's leg. "We've… well, actually, the girls have a day planned out for us."

Andrea and Katie nodded eagerly. "It's gonna be fun!"

Hikaru sighed. I'm not going to win this one… "Well… if you say so…" He sat up and ruffled his hair as he yawned, still quite tired.

Katie watched him with slight interest as he did so. _He looks so cute_…

Hikaru noticed Katie staring at him and smiled at her, giving her a small wink.

She blushed, her face going bright red. _Okay_… _he_ _now_ _looks ultra cute_… _and maybe_ _a_ _little sexy_…

Andrea and Kaoru watched the interaction with interest, grinning at each other when they saw the blush on Katie's cheeks.

"So, can we get going now?" Andrea asked curiously, snorting when she noticed the infatuated redheads jump. "Or are you two too busy staring at each other like that's all you can see?"

"Shut up," Katie muttered as she turned away from Hikaru, still blushing slightly. "Can we go now?" she asked before anyone else could say anything.

Hikaru nodded and stood up, stretching widely. "I'll just go shower," he muttered.

Andrea smiled. "Ooh, and wear your swimming trunks under your trousers!" she called out.

Hikaru nodded as he walked into his bathroom. "Yeah, yeah." He sighed as he shut the door behind him. _What on earth were those guys planning?_

* * *

"Okay…" Hikaru walked into the kitchen barefooted, wearing a pair of khaki shorts on top of his blue swimming trunks and a blue vest. His hair was left scruffy, due to the fact that he was still quite tired. He rubbed the back of his neck. "So what do we do now?"

Andrea looked up at him from where she and Kaoru were doing a Sudoku puzzle. She wore a red and white polka-dotted sundress with a pair of white sandals, and her hair was tied back into a ponytail due to the extensions. "Have you had breakfast yet?" she asked.

Hikaru shook his head as he walked further in, heading over to where the pair were doing their puzzle. "Not yet." He yawned a little. "Why?"

"Katie made bacon. I made scrambled eggs and mushroom. There's baked beans as well if you want them," Andrea explained.

Hikaru's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You can cook?"

"Breakfast? Yes." Andrea smiled up at him. "Aren't you going to go and eat, Hikaru?"

Hikaru smiled at her. He hadn't known Andrea for too long - three weeks at the most - and he already liked her. As a friend of course. There was already someone whom he had his eyes set on…

"Hey, Hikaru."

Hikaru paused and suddenly realised he'd walked over to where Katie sat on the counter, eating her breakfast, without knowing. "Uh… hey…" he greeted, his face confused.

Katie smiled at him. She wore a green and white striped sundress with a pair of white sandals, and her hair was held back with a green Alice band. "You look confused, Hika," she said as she handed him his plate of breakfast. "What's got you all confused?"

Hikaru shook his head and took his breakfast from the counter. "Never mind." He smiled at her reassuringly as he grabbed a fork and started digging into his breakfast. It was only once he'd smelt the food that he realised that he was really hungry. He took a bite of the food on his plate and grinned. "I didn't know Andrea was such a good cook."

Katie shrugged. "Her parents taught her as soon as they could trust her in the kitchen…" She grinned. "She makes some pretty nice bacon as well, but I wanted to cook."

Hikaru chuckled as he took another mouthful of the food. "Well, it's for me, isn't it?" He grinned at Katie.

Katie blushed slightly. "Yeah, you're so special that I just had to cook for you."

Hikaru laughed at her comment and continued to eat his breakfast. "Well, I'm glad that I'm loved."

Kaoru watched their interaction with interest. He wore the same outfit at Hikaru, although he wore orange instead of blue, and his hair was done more neatly. "You really think they should date?" he asked Andrea.

Andrea nodded as she read the numbers on the grid. "They're in love," she pointed out, pointing at the pair with her pencil.

"But what you and Haruhi are planning…" Kaoru started, still a bit uncertain about it.

"Involves you and your 'jealousy' at the Host Club." Andrea smirked at him as she filled in a couple of squares on the grid. "We'll catch the act on camera, and manipulate them into dating."

Kaoru frowned slightly before smirking evilly. "So this fake jealousy thing is gonna benefit us?"

"Not us – them." She rubbed out a couple of numbers on the square.

Kaoru grinned at her. "Then I trust you two to make this plan work." He looked over at the grid she was completing, although by the frown on his face it was easy to tell that he didn't get any of it.

Andrea smiled at him. "Thank you." She turned around to where Hikaru and Katie were still eating. "Hurry up, you two! You need to finish your breakfast soon if we want to have fun today!"

Hikaru nodded and quickly finished the rest of his food, stuffing it into his mouth. "Done!" he called out once he swallowed the last of his food.

"Juice," Andrea and Kaoru called out at the same time, not even turning to look at him.

Hikaru sighed and grabbed a glass before pouring himself some orange juice and downing it quickly. "Done!" He placed his glass in the sink. He looked around a little before he frowned. "Where are all the cooks and maids today?"

Kaoru smiled at his brother. "They got the day off."

Hikaru frowned at Kaoru's explanation. "How did they get the day off?" he asked.

Kaoru shrugged. "They just did. Don't ask me."

Hikaru's eyes narrowed. "Does this have something to do with our surprise day?" he asked, suddenly suspicious.

Katie smirked at him as she placed both hers and Hikaru's plates in the sink. "Maybe…" she sang.

"Can we get going, then?" Kaoru asked excitedly as he stood up. "I want to see our surprise, now!"

Andrea put away the Sudoku and smiled at the younger twin. "I'm ready to go." She turned to Katie and Hikaru. "How about you two?"

Hikaru and Katie nodded.

Andrea got up. "Well, let's get going, then."

Hikaru smiled when he recognised the area where the limo was driving. "So this is our big surprise, then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Katie.

Katie smiled, knowing he'd recognize this place immediately. "Yup."

Kaoru frowned as he looked out of the tinted limo windows. "The beach? What's so special about the beach?"

"You'll see." Andrea opened the limo door with a grin on her face and climbed out, holding the door open for the other three.

Hikaru and Kaoru smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, Andrea!" they said simultaneously as they climbed out of the car.

Katie grinned at her best friend as she climbed out behind the twins. "Thanks, bestie," she said.

Andrea smiled at her. "No problem, ginge." She turned to the twins. "Okay, guys, close your eyes."

The twins frowned at her. "What?"

"Do it," Andrea commanded.

The boys sighed before doing as they were told and closing their eyes. "Done," they answered. "Now what?"

Andrea and Katie grabbed their hands before leading them down to the beach, walking the pair along the sand, until they reached a medium-sized beach house. The two girls led the boys up to it quietly before they opened the door, yelling, "Open!"

The twins opened their eyes before grinning at what they saw.

The room was decorated with blue and orange decorations, and there was a huge cake covered in blue and orange frosting right in the middle of the room. To the side, the was a table covered with salads, rice and sauces. Across the ceiling hung a huge banner that read 'Happy Birthday Hikaru and Kaoru!' in bold blue and orange fonts. But that wasn't all. The room was filled with people.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone in the group exclaimed at the twins. The whole Host Club was there, plus Bossanova and Mei, the younger siblings of the members and some of their parents, including…

Wide grins appeared on the twins' faces as they recognized two people from the crowd. "Mom! Dad!" They ran up to their parents and pulled them into tight hugs.

Yuzuha smiled at her twin sons as she hugged them tightly. "Happy birthday, boys!"

Their father just smiled and ruffled their hair affectionately, causing Kaoru to right his hair automatically. Hikaru didn't care.

Kaoru was grinning at his parents. "We didn't think you would come!" he exclaimed, excited that they had both managed to turn up.

"Well, after I found out that your friends were throwing you this party at one of our smaller beach huts, it was hard not to turn up." She smiled at the twins before she kissed each of them on the forehead. "Happy birthday, boys."

Hikaru blushed, slightly embarrassed about being kissed. "Mom!" he growled.

Kaoru sniggered at his brother. "Embarrassed, Hikaru?" he teased.

Hikaru glared at Kaoru. "Shut up, Kao."

Andrew, Andrea's father, smiled as he appeared from within the crowd with a pair of cooking tongs in his hand.

"Right, let's get some food on the grill, shall we?"

Everyone cheered before running out of the small beach house and onto the sandy beach, the teenagers stripping down to their swimsuits.

Hikaru grinned as he removed his shirt, sandals and khaki shorts, ignoring the wolf-whistles he received when he took off his shirt, before running into the sea. "Best birthday ever!" he yelled as he dived into the waves.

* * *

Yuzuha smiled and watched as her teenaged sons played in the waves, splashing water at each other and swimming with their friends. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed how close Hikaru seemed to be getting to the redheaded girl… Katie, was it?

"So, you're the twins' mother?"

Yuzuha turned so see a redheaded woman walking towards her, a smile on her face. "Yes… I am their mother…" She frowned at the woman. "May I ask who you are?"

The woman stuck her hand out for Yuzuha to shake. "I'm Chantal, Katie's mum."

"Oh!" Yuzuha smiled and shook her hand. "It's lovely to meet you! My name is Yuzuha Hitachiin, the fashion designer. You know, every time Hikaru get the chance to talk to me he always talks about Katie…"

Chantal smiled warmly. "Well, Katie always speaks highly of Hikaru… and his name is mentioned quite a lot at home…"

Yuzuha's eyebrows rose at what she said. _It was, was it?_ "By Katie, right?"

Chantal looked at her in shock before nodding. "Yes… well, it's mentioned quite a bit by Becky as well, but mainly by Katie…"

Yuzuha chuckled. "Those two have a little thing for each other, don't they?"

Chantal nodded as she joined the woman in her chuckling. "It's not hard to tell…" She looked over to where Katie, Hikaru, Kaoru and Andrea were playing in the sea. "The four of them seem to be very close friends, though…"

Suddenly, the group of four was ambushed by the rest of the Host Club, Bossanova and Mei as well as their younger siblings, and the small game soon turned into an all-out water battle, with people splashing each other mercilessly and pulling each other under water.

"Careful!" Ekua called out from where she had been helping Andrew with the barbecue. "We don't want anyone hurt!"

"Yes, mum!" Andrea called back, only to be splashed by Hikaru. She turned her glare on him. "You will pay for that…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Oh boy…" He quickly turned and swam away from her, not expecting her to grab his ankle and drag him through the water onto the sand. He choked as he tried to get water out of his nose. "Hey!" he cried.

Andrea just folded her arms and glared at him. "What?"

Hikaru cowered. "Sorry?" he offered meekly.

"Sorry won't cut it."

"How about an extra burger?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't eat as much as you do."

He frowned at her. "Are you calling me a pig?"

"I am now, pig."

"Shut up."

"No way."

The pair glared at each other before Hikaru literally tacked Andrea to the ground.

She screamed in surprise. "Hikaru!"

This drew the attention of the others in the sea, and Katie could only watch on as Hikaru and Andrea play-fought – as usual – only feeling slightly jealous this time. Last time she'd nearly bitten Andrea' head off.

Andrea pinned Hikaru down on the sand. "Submit?"Hikaru shook his head. "Nope."

She smirked before twisting him so that he was on his front, his arms pinned behind his back. She pushed them between his shoulder blades, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Submit?"

"No," he squeaked before he felt his arms being pushed up further. "Okay, okay! I submit!"

Andrea grinned before she let him go.

Hikaru turned over and glared at her, rubbing his shoulders. "That hurt!"

Kaoru ran over to his brother and helped him up, smirking. "I can't believe you got beaten by a girl, Hikaru…"

Hikaru glared at his brother. "I did not!"

"You did."

"Not!"

"You did."

"Not!"

"You did."

"Hikaru, baby!" His mother ran over and hugged him tightly, stroking his hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hikaru muttered, still slightly sore.

"After watching you get beaten by that girl…"

Hikaru huffed indignantly and pushed himself out of his mother's hug. "I did not get beaten by a girl!"

Yuzuha smiled. "Don't worry – you'll get her back."

Hikaru groaned.

Before anyone in the group could say anything, Andrew called the group over to the barbecue. "Who wants hot dogs?" he called out.

Everyone grinned before racing over. "I do, I do!"

* * *

The twins grinned as they bit into their grilled burgers with ketchup, the sauce getting all over their mouths.

Katie smirked as she watched Hikaru eat his food messily. _That boy must be hungry…_

"Uh, Hikaru, Kaoru? You've both got a little something all over your mouths…" Haruhi pointed out.

The boys blushed before each grabbing napkins from the nearby table and wiping their mouths, getting rid of the excess ketchup and grease.

Tamaki chuckled. "Boy, you two must be hungry," he joked, earning smiles from the whole group.

"Yeah, well, our breakfast wasn't enough," Hikaru teased, sending Andrea a glance.

Andrea frowned. "What do you mean it wasn't enough? I cooked you both a Full English, with sausages, omelettes, mushrooms, bacon, baked beans and tomatoes. Plus, you had orange juice afterwards."

Hikaru blushed. "Well… I was hungry."

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "We're growing boys… we need our food…"

"Well, if you need your food, there are burgers on the table," Andrew pointed out. "And there's salad and rice."

Andrea smiled. "Mmm, salad!" She quickly got up and went to the table to get some salad for herself.

The twins grimaced. "Ew… salad…" They continued to eat their burgers, and eat took a sip from their cans of fizzy drinks. Kaoru's eyes widened when he gave an accidental burp, causing Hikaru to chuckle slightly and burp himself.

Katie scrunched her nose at them. "Okay, that's disgusting…"

Andrea shrugged as she walked back over. "It's a male thing." She sat down beside them. "I'd be surprised if they didn't burp. The drink is fizzy – contains carbonated water."

The three redheads stared at her blankly.

Andrea sighed. "But you didn't really find that necessary to know – got it."

"So, have you two received any presents?" Tamaki asked, excited about their birthday.

The twins shook their heads. "Not yet. We think our grandmother left some sort of present for us at the mansion, but it's not like we're going to open it. We hate her," they explained bluntly at the same time.

Andrea frowned. "Well, that's a shame. I guess we have to flood you with our presents instead."

The twins' eyes widened. "What?! Where?!"

"The presents are in the beach-house," Kyoya explained.

The two boys grinned at each other before putting their plates down and racing over to the beach-house like excited little boys. They yanked the door open and ran in, opening all of the doors. They thought they had found nothing… until Kaoru opened one cupboard and yelped as a huge pile of boxes fell on top of him. Hikaru ran over.

"Kao! Are you alright?"

Kaoru popped his head out from underneath the boxes and grinned. "Yeah! I'm great! But these presents…" He looked up at his brother. "I can't open them all by myself…"

Hikaru glared at his brother playfully. "Well, of course you can't. Half of these presents are wrapped in blue wrapping paper! You like orange!"

Kaoru just smirked. "Well that's a shame… I was hoping they were all for me…"

"Greedy pig."

"Says you."

Hikaru punched Kaoru lightly on the shoulder. "I'm nowhere near as greedy as you."

"Prove it."

He picked up a present wrapped with blue wrapping paper. "You were going to open this when it's clearly mine, idiot."

* * *

Hikaru sighed happily as he walked along the sand alone, barefooted, as the sun set. The waves were lapping against his feet as he walked on along the wet sand and smiled.

He loved the sunset. The sea was always warm, and the air was always cool. The sky was a golden orange, much like the one that Kaoru loved, that faded into a dark blue as it got further and further up. The clouds in the distance were lined with a faint orangey-pink, and the sun… just sat there, as if it was half in the sea.

Yes, this was definitely his favourite place.

"Hey, Hikaru."

He jumped and span to see Katie standing there in her sundress, her curly red hair draped over her shoulder. He smiled at her. _She looks so beautiful…_

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

He blushed. "Uh… hey, Katie."

Katie just giggled. "You act so weird sometimes…"

Hikaru laughed nervously. "Yeah… I guess…"

The two just stood there for a little while, enjoying being in each other's presence, before Katie broke the silence.

"Uh, so… did you like your presents?" she asked.

Hikaru's eyes lit up and he smiled as he nodded. "I loved them! I got so many presents…" His face fell slightly. "I didn't get one from you though…"

Katie suddenly felt very guilty seeing the look on his face. "Well… I wanted to give you your present personally." _Just like you gave me mine…_

Hikaru frowned slightly. "Really?"

Katie nodded, feeling slightly nervous. "Yep. Uh… close your eyes."

Hikaru nodded and shut his eyes. "Okay, now what?"

"No peeking!" Katie went around behind him and opened the small velvet box in her hand, pulling out the necklace. She carefully reached up and fastened it around Hikaru's neck. "There." She walked back round to the front of him and pecks him on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Hikaru."

He opened his eyes and blushed at the kiss. Then he frowned and touched the small object hanging around his neck. He smiled softly.

The necklace was a small, silver, rectangle-shaped pendant that hung around his neck on a silver chain. On the pendant, the name Hikaru was engraved in a deep blue colour. His favourite colour…

"It's… amazing…" Hikaru whispered, finding it hard to think of a word to describe how beautiful he found the necklace. He gave Katie a grateful smile before kissing her softly on the cheek, dangerously close to her mouth. "Thank you so much…"

Katie blushed as she smiled back at Hikaru. "I-i-it's fine, H-Hika…"

He grinned at her before looking out to sea. "The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"

Katie followed his gaze and smiled softly. "Yeah, it is…"

"Just like you…" he whispered, glancing over at her.

She blushed and turned sharply to him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and continued to stare out at the sunset.

She stared at him for a few seconds before turning back to the sunset, moving closer to him so that they were nearly touching. _It really is beautiful…_

Little did they know that this moment was one that would set off a chain reaction of events…

* * *

**Ooooh, review!**


	9. Chemistry

**Hey readers. Yeah... you know what I said about not updating as often? I guess that isn't going to happen anytime soon X3 Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next episode!**

**Oh, and the links to the necklaces, lockets and rings (from this main story and my side stories... if you've been reading them...) are up on my profile, just in case you were wondering!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chemistry

"Okay, so now we add this one to the beaker…"

Kaoru frowned uncertainly as he looked up at Andrea, eying the test tube in her hands. "Are you sure that is 0.4 molar sodium chloride solution?"

Andrea shrugged as she looked at the solution in the tube. "That's what the bottle said."

Katie nodded in agreement, supporting her best friend. "She's right. I read it too."

Hikaru frowned at the liquid in the test tube. "That doesn't look like 25 cubic centimeters of sodium chloride…" he muttered, sending the girls a warning glance.

Andrea just stared at him blankly, handing the test tube to Katie. "What, you think because I wear glasses that I must be blind? Seriously, I measured it. Twice!"

"Should've measured it three times," Kaoru muttered, earning himself a light headslap. "Hey! I thought only Mukta gave those?"

"Mukta's not here."

Hikaru snatched the test tube from Katie's hands and eyed it warily. "This really doesn't look like the right amount…"

Katie snatched the test tube back off him. "Rather than complaining about how much sodium chloride solution we have in our test tube, why don't you make sure you've set the equipment up correctly?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her. "I set it up, and it's set up correctly."

Katie raised an eyebrow in return. "How can you be so confident about that?"

"Because I set it up. Did you not hear me?"

"I did hear you. I was just going to point out that you haven't exactly always been right…"

Hikaru frowned at her. "What?"

Kaoru bit his lip before nodding in agreement with Katie. "She's got a point, Hikaru. I may not be a science genius, but I know you don't get _everything_ right…"

Andrea snorted. "I _am_ a science genius, and you _definitely_ don't get everything right."

Hikaru frowned at them all. "Look, if you're talking about the Physics experiment, it was just one little miscalculation. Just one."

"Which caused the whole experiment to fail," Andrea pointed out.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes at her. _This girl enjoys annoying me way too much…_

Katie sighed. "Look, just check over the equipment one more time. We don't want anything to happen, like the electrodes failing or the liquid burning and causing the current to short-circuit."

Hikaru sighed. "Fine." He leaned over to check the equipment again, not noticing when his necklace slipped out from underneath his shirt and started dangling beneath his neck.

Andrea frowned when she saw it. "Hey, Hikaru, what are you wearing?"

"Clothes," he answered bluntly as he continued to check the equipment.

"I meant around your neck."

His froze and mentally cursed himself. _No one was meant to know apart from Kaoru and Katie…_ "It's a necklace…"

"Really?" she smiled. "Where'd you get it?" she sang childishly.

"A friend," Hikaru answered, too quickly for Andrea's liking.

"Which friend?"

"One you don't need to know about."

She reached forward and held the pendant of the necklace in the palm of her hand, examining it. "It's really pretty…"

Hikaru smiled. "Thanks."

"Katie really has good taste, doesn't she?"

He tensed. "Uh…"

Andrea raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not stupid, Hikaru. It looks like something Katie would get you anyway. Especially after the locket you gave her…"

Hikaru's face was bright red as he finished checking the equipment and he snatched the pendant out of Andrea's hand, tucking it back beneath his shirt. "Shut up… please?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely…"

"You know, I really don't think 25 cubic centimeters of sodium chloride solution is enough…" Kaoru muttered, comparing the amount in the test tube with the size of the experiment beaker.

"We're meant to dilute it further with 50 cubic centimeters of distilled water," Katie explained as she read the instruction sheet. "Okay… where's the distilled water?"

"At the front of the class with the rest of the equipment," Kaoru explained. "Should I get it?"

"Yup."

Kaoru quickly got up and went to fetch the distilled water.

Andrea sighed and leaned against her stool, her arms folded. "So…"

The two remaining redheads turned to look at her.

"Are you two meant to keep up this 'lovers' act in class?" she asked, a gleam in her eyes. If yes, she and Haruhi were going to have so much more fun with their plan…

They both blushed lightly before nodding.

"I'm trying not to lather it on so much, though…" Hikaru explained. "They say I have to look more shy and nervous…"

"But you're always shy and nervous around Katie," Andrea pointed out, causing Hikaru to turn a darker shade of red.

"Shut up," he muttered, absentmindedly rubbing the arm that had been stabbed all those months ago.

Katie narrowed her eyes at him. Ever since he'd had the cast removed, it seemed as if he scratched the area where the cast once was whenever he was nervous or agitated. Yes, the scars were still there, but he claimed that they weren't as irritating anymore… "Hikaru, quit rubbing your arm."

Hikaru's eyes widened and he quickly stopped. "Sorry…" he muttered as he put his arms down.

Andrea frowned. "Is that something you do when you're nervous?" she asked curiously.

Hikaru snorted. "No."

"Yes," Katie answered. "You just don't notice it."

Hikaru blushed. "Oh…"

Kaoru returned with the distilled water and a measuring cylinder. "Here we go… how much do we have to measure again?"

Andrea took the distilled water whilst Katie took the measuring cylinder.

"The sheet says 50 cubic centimeters of distilled water…" Hikaru muttered as he picked up the sheet and read it.

Andrea carefully poured the distilled water into the measuring cylinder. "Tell me when to stop," she told Katie.

Katie watched until it reached 50 cubic centimeters before telling Andrea to stop. She held up the cylinder. "Okay… what do we do next?"

Hikaru read through the instructions. "It says we put the water into the beaker with the electrodes, and then we add the sodium chloride solution."

Katie poured in the distilled water, and then Kaoru added the solution.

Andrea placed two mini-boiling tubes over the electrodes in the beaker before turning to Hikaru. "Okay, now what?"

Hikaru switched on the circuit at the plug. "Now we wait for about five minutes…"

The group watched patiently, chatting amiably amongst themselves. It was about two minutes later when Kaoru noticed the beaker start smoking. His eyes widened as he watched the electrodes start to bubble and the mini-beakers start to burn.

"Uh… guys…"

The other three turned to look at what he was looking at and their eyes widened.

"Oh no…" Katie muttered.

"It's gonna explode!" Andrea exclaimed as she watched the mini-boiling tubes heat up violently and sparks fly from the beaker.

There was screaming in the classroom as students attempted to run as far away from the experiment as possible, hiding under desks and behind stools.

Andrea and Kaoru backed away from the experiment and turned to run behind the nearest table to hide.

Hikaru quickly grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her away from the experiment, wrapping his arms around her as the equipment exploded and shielding her from any glass shards. He winced as he felt some glass cut into his leg.

Katie buried her face in Hikaru's chest, breathing quickly and shaking slightly. Once the explosion had passed, the two stood there for a little while before Katie pulled her head away from Hikaru's chest.

"Hikaru…" she whispered.

"Shhh." He ran a comforting hand down her back. "Are you alright?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah…" She bit her lip. "Are… are you? I felt you tense a little…"

Hikaru smiled down at her. "I'm fine, Katie. Don't worry about me…"

Katie frowned at him. "Don't lie to me, Hikaru…"

He sighed. "Okay, I think some of the flying glass shards cut my leg, but that's all." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Katie was about to question him further when their teacher finally stepped into the room.

"What happened?" he called out as he cut off electricity supplies to all of the work benches. "Is everyone alright?"

The whole class of students murmured their affirmatives as they got up from their hiding spots, each student in slight shock from what had happened.

Andrea and Kaoru carefully got up, both of them biting their lips as they assessed the damage. The test tubes were gone, the beakers were gone, the liquids had either evaporated or had spilt onto the bench, there was salt everywhere… the wires were on fire…

"Whoops…" Andrea muttered, causing Kaoru to crack a small smile.

"Is anyone injured?" the teacher called out again.

Hikaru put his hand up slowly. "I've got a cut in my leg…" he explained. "It was caused by a glass shard."

"Uh, sir?" Andrea put her hand up. "Our experiment… it could have released some chlorine gas into the air…"

"Okay, evacuate the classroom!"

The students all grabbed their bags and filed out of the classroom, and the teacher locked the door behind them. He turned to his students.

"Who was nearest to the equipment when it exploded?" he asked.

Hikaru, Kaoru, Andrea and Katie put their hands up.

"To the nurse's office. Now, please."

The four of them groaned before they headed to the office, heads hanging.

* * *

"Wait, wait, so what happened?"

Hikaru sighed as he began to explain to Tamaki why his calf was wrapped in a bandage again, starting from the beginning of the experiment.

Katie watched the pair, slightly amused. "Trust Tamaki to want to know everything…"

Andrea nodded. "Yeah…" She smirked at Katie. "I bet he didn't tell him how he saved your life by protecting you from those glass shards."

Katie blushed. "It… it was nothing…"

"He took a glass shard for you. How is that 'nothing'?"

Katie's face went even darker red. "I… I didn't want him to…" She gave a small smile. "He was really warm, though… and his arms…"

"Oh my good Lord I can't believe you're saying this," Andrea muttered. "Katie Elizabeth Brigden get a hold of yourself! You're acting like some sappy movie girl that has just fallen in l—" Her eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, you don't just love him, do you?"

Katie shook her head. "I… I think I'm _in love_ with him, Andrea," she whispered.

Andrea just stared at Katie in shock before squealing and pulling her best friend into a crushing hug, catching the attention of Haruhi and Kaoru and causing them to walk over.

"What's going on?" Haruhi asked.

"L'amour! L'amour!" Andrea exclaimed.

Kaoru chuckled at Andrea's exclamation. "What about 'l'amour'?" he asked, curiousity piqued.

"C'est dans l'air!" she said happily, signaling over at Katie.

Katie continued to blush. "Shut up, Andrea…"

Haruhi and Kaoru chuckled at how easily Katie was blushing. It was usually much harder to get her to look like this… "What did you say?" they asked her.

Katie shook her head, her mouth firmly closed. "I'm not telling anyone else. I've already told Andrea."

Kaoru pouted. "Awww…"

Katie smiled. "Well, I have to go prepare for the guests now." She waved at her group of friends as she walked to the kitchen. "See you guys later!"

The other three waved at her before Kaoru and Haruhi turned on Andrea. "What did she say?" they demanded.

"She's in love with him," Andrea whispered.

Kaoru and Haruhi's eyes widened. "What?!"

"She doesn't just _love_ him, she's _in love_ with him!"

Kaoru frowned. "What's the difference?"

Andrea stared at Kaoru incredulously. "There's a huge difference!" She grinned. "You know, this makes it the ideal time to put our plan into action."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Is… is that a good idea? I mean, the repercussions of it…"

"We'll do it," Haruhi said, determined. "We know what the outcome will be anyway."

Kaoru looked nervously between the two girls before sighing and nodding. "Fine. Let's do it."

* * *

"I'm telling you, Hikaru, she's not who she says she is!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes at Kaoru. "And I'm telling you she is. She's perfect, Kaoru! Perfect blue eyes, perfect red hair…" He took a deep breath. "I think I'll ask her out."

Even though every part of his being was saying, _encourage him, encourage him, Kaoru_, Kaoru knew he had to take a stand. "She's not interested in you."

Hikaru frowned at his brother. "How would you know?"

Kaoru scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? She's obviously acting like that just to make me jealous."

Hikaru frowned. "Make you jealous?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, didn't you hear? She's actually in love with me. What she's showing you is just an act."

Hikaru stared at his brother incredulously before laughing. "Oh, Kaoru! You're so funny!" he managed to say in between laughs.

Kaoru kept a straight face. "I'm serious, Hikaru."

"No you aren't." Hikaru walked over to their customer table. "You're lying to me. I can tell when you're lying to me, Kaoru."

Kaoru sighed and glanced over at Haruhi.

She caught his eyes and frowned. _Nothing?_

He shook his head. _Nothing._

She narrowed her eyes at him. _Do something._

Kaoru sighed and followed his brother over to the table where Hikaru sat with their guests.

"Oh, Hikaru, what a lovely necklace!"

Kaoru made it a point to groan out of disgust as he sat down, glaring slightly at the small necklace that hung around his brother's neck.

Hikaru frowned at Kaoru before turning to the customer that had spoken and smiling. "Thanks. It was a birthday present from a friend."

"Which friend?" another customer asked, a small smirk on her face. She had an idea on who it was…

"Katie," Kaoru spat. "That no good, brother-stealing annoying little waitress!"

Hikaru's eyes widened and he turned to Kaoru sharply. "Don't you dare talk about Katie like that!" he growled. "You have no right to!"

"Well, I do have a right! This is a free country!"

Hikaru's face was bright red with anger. "You… you…" He couldn't find any appropriate words to say, so he just got up and walked away from the group furiously.

Kaoru stared after his brother, resisting the urge to go after him and hug him by gripping the chair tightly. He closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth.

"Kaoru…?"

Kaoru opened his eyes and looked up at one of his customers. "Yes?"

"Are… are you alright?"

Kaoru turned towards where Hikaru had headed and sighed, pain showing on his face for the first time since the beginning of the semester. "Just peachy," he replied before he got up and walked to the changing rooms to sit alone.

* * *

Hikaru was so busy feeling angry with his younger brother, Kaoru, at that moment that he didn't watch where he was going… or who he walked into.

He yelped as he crashed into someone, causing them to topple over so that he fell on top of the other person. "Ow…" he groaned.

His eyes flashed open when he heard a groan come from beneath him, and he tensed when he recognized the curly red hair and bright blue eyes. "Gah!" he exclaimed in shock. "Katie!"

Katie looked up at him, a small scowl on her face. "Jeez, Hikaru, can't you watch where you're going for once?" she asked, annoyed by the fact that they had ended up in that position.

Hikaru blushed. "Sorry…"

Katie sighed. She felt uncomfortable with him lying on top of her… "Uh… Hikaru?"

He cocked his head at her curiously. "Yeah?" he asked.

"You're still on top of me." Her eyes subconsciously flicked down to his lips before meeting his eyes again.

Hikaru's face went bright red before he managed to regain his composure. "Who's to say I don't like it up here?" he asked, his voice going slightly husky by accident as he tried to avoid letting his blood rush south.

Katie's eyes widened at his behaviour. "Uh…" She blushed profusely, at a loss for words. _He's being so… forward…_ Her eyes quickly flitted down to his lips again before meeting his eyes.

Hikaru smirked at her blush and leaned in close to her face. "Feeling uncomfortable?" he whispered against her lips.

Katie tried to glare at him, resisting the urge to kiss him there and then. "Well, yeah! You're crushing me!" she groaned. "Get off!"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her. "What if I like lying on top of you?"

Katie's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "You dirty little…"

He looked deep into her eyes, giving her one of his small lopsided smiles. "Yes?" he asked expectantly.

Katie's anger immediately melted away when she saw his amber ones looking deeply into hers. She nearly melted at his look, giving him a small smile in return.

Hikaru felt his heart start to beat faster at her smile, and his palms suddenly felt sweaty. _Oh crap… I'm dying here…_

"Are you two done?"

Hikaru's eyes widened when he heard Kyoya's voice and he quickly looked up. "Uh…"

Katie put her hands on Hikaru's chest an attempted to push him off her, trying desperately to ignore the fact that she could feel his heart was beating erratically. "Hikaru! Move!" she exclaimed.

Hikaru blushed as Katie put her hands on his chest, but obediently rolled off her. "Happy?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered before her brain could think up anything else. She sighed and sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh great… I have to get more tea and cupcakes now…" She looked around them. "And I need to clean this up…"

"I'll help you," Hikaru offered as he stood up. He helped Katie to her feet. "Besides, it's my fault you fell over and dropped everything. It's only fair," he pointed out.

Katie smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks." She led Hikaru over to the clean-up closet to get some cleaning supplies.

* * *

Andrea and Haruhi stood back, watching what was going on as it happened. They watched as Kaoru retreated back into the changing rooms, looking upset. Andrea was tempted to go after him and check up on him, but Kyoya wasn't letting her out of the room.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just let them get together now?" Haruhi asked, watching as Katie reached into the clean-up closet and handed Hikaru the mop and bucket.

"I don't know…" Andrea muttered. She thought for a moment as she watched them. "Hikaru doesn't seem to realise how much he loves Katie yet. He just seems to know that he loves her more than a friend."

Haruhi nodded. "Okay, so we're going onto part two tomorrow?" she asked.

Andrea nodded. "Yup."

Haruhi smiled. "That's good. The customers always love a little drama…"

"And drama they shall get." Andrea sighed. "Kaoru… he's going to suffer from this, isn't he?"

Haruhi nodded. "He's going to destroy himself by doing all this acting…" she said quietly, suddenly having second thought about their plan.

Andrea realized what Haruhi was thinking about and found herself thinking the exact same things. "Do… do you think it'll be worth it in the end?"

"Kaoru wants his brother to realise how much in love he is with Katie," Haruhi explained, commenting on how Kaoru had agreed to join in on their plan. "He'll give up anything for him… even if he loses his reputation by lying this whole time."

Andrea looked down. "I still feel guilty…"

"So do I… but this is important if we want to get Hikaru and Katie together. Think about it like that." Haruhi gave Andrea a small smile.

Andrea nodded, smiling at Haruhi's sudden positive thinking. "I know, I know…" She sighed. "I'm going to go and check on Kaoru." She started heading over to the changing rooms with the empty tray still in her hand. "Tell Kyoya I'm taking my break now," she called back to Haruhi.

Haruhi nodded and watched as Andrea headed over to the changing rooms. She turned back to see Katie and Hikaru working together to clean up the mess, smiling and laughing. Hikaru laughed as he slipped on some wet flooring, landing in the mop bucket that Katie had been using and causing Katie to laugh.

Haruhi sighed.

_Boy, we're going to make things complicated…_

* * *

**So... I hoped you like that! Review!**


	10. Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 1

**Hey, guys! I have your next episode for you - and be prepared for drama, guys, because over the next few chapters there's gonna be a lot of it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Operation Get Katie and Hikaru together part 1

"So, what's the next part of the plan?" Kaoru asked. "We've put them in an intimate situation, we've seen them defensive about each other, but what do we do next?"

Andrea smiled slyly. "We give them drama."

"Drama?"

Haruhi nodded in agreement. "Yes, we need drama. And some serious drama."

Kaoru frowned. "Why?"

"It's the only way to get them to realize how much they really love each other…" Andrea pointed out. "Hikaru seems quite thick when it comes to this subject, and Katie's just embarrassed."

"This is going to involve me and my 'jealously', isn't it?" Kaoru groaned.

Haruhi nodded, but Andrea nodded the saddened look on his face.

"Once it's over, you can tell Hikaru everything you did," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

Kaoru smiled at her. "Okay."

"So, for the drama…" Haruhi started.

Andrea thought about it as she leaned on Kaoru's shoulder. "What if… what if we add a little twist to this story?"

Kaoru frowned. "Like what?"

"Like the real reason why you're jealous of Hikaru and Katie…"

* * *

Hikaru sighed as he walked into the Host Club, shouldering his bag determinedly. That was, until he saw Kaoru. The smile that he had previously worn faltered as he walked over to his younger brother.

"Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked up from where he had been attempting to complete his maths homework with a lot of difficulty and smiled slightly at his older brother. "Hey, Hikaru."

Hikaru just stared at his brother, still a little peeved about what had happened the other day. "Hey."

Kaoru frowned slightly. "Are you alright, Hikaru?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"No."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, yes."

Kaoru sighed and put his pen down. "Look, Hikaru…"

"If you're going to tell me you're sorry, save it."

Kaoru's eyebrows rose. "What?"

Hikaru pulled a chair over before sitting next to his brother. "I've made up my mind… about everything… and I'm sorry if you're going to hate me for this, but I'm going to ask her."

"Ask her?" Kaoru frowned, clearly confused. "Ask who what?" He had an idea of what Hikaru was talking about, but he had to be certain before he reacted.

Hikaru took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask Katie if she'll go out with me…" he said quietly, waiting for his brother's reaction. Lately, the whole 'jealousy' act had been going further than usual, actually working its way into the boys' private lives as well. Whenever he tried to talk to Kaoru about Katie at home, Kaoru either avoided the subject, exploded in his face or just plain ignored him.

Kaoru stared at his brother for a few moments before looking away, feigning hurt. "Oh…" He gave Hikaru a small smile. "I… I don't hate you for it…"

Hikaru let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and he smiled at Kaoru. "You don't? Because you know that you mean a lot to me, Kaoru, and I don't want to hurt you…"

"You're not hurting me, Hikaru," Kaoru managed to say, a fake smile plastered on his face. "I just… I just feel… I feel like… like you're leaving me…" His face fell and he turned away from Hikaru.

Hikaru felt his chest pang. "Kaoru…"

"And…" Kaoru took a deep breath. "I… I think I like her too…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "What?!" He smirked. "That's the craziest idea ever, Kaoru! All you've ever done is tease me about liking Katie, and then get jealous all of a sudden!"

Kaoru turned to Hikaru. "You don't think I'm serious?"

"I think you're lying to me, Kaoru. I think this is all some sort of trick."

Kaoru smiled a genuine smile. "Jeez, I can't get anything past you, can I?" He felt relieved that Hikaru wasn't falling for this whole trick, although it made him feel even guiltier about what he had to do.

Hikaru chuckled. "We're brothers, Kaoru. We've been joined at the hip since birth…" He slung an arm over his brother's shoulder and grinned. "You can't lie to me, and I can't lie to you. Remember?"

Kaoru nodded and leaned into his brother. "Yeah, I do…" He sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry, Hikaru… for lying to you…"

Hikaru smiled and hugged his brother close. "It's fine, Kaoru. Just… just try not to lie to me again, okay?"

Kaoru tensed slightly. "I'll try."

Hikaru smirked. "You better, Kaoru. Or there will be hell to pay."

* * *

Katie smiled as she walked into the Host Club that afternoon, her rucksack slung over her shoulder and her hair, that now reached her waist, tied back into a ponytail. She'd already established how much both she and Andrea hated the Ouran dresses, so no one was surprised when she turned up in her jeans and a t-shirt, with her converses.

"Good afternoon, Miss Brigden," Kyoya greeted.

"S'up, Kyoya?" She smiled at him. "Is my cosplay ready?"

"As always. As long as you are using your usual changing room."

Katie nodded. "Is Andrea here yet?"

"I haven't seen her come in."

"That's because I'm right behind you."

Kyoya turned to see Andrea standing behind him, a smirk on her face, as she stood holding her rucksack and wearing her jeans and t-shirt with trainers.

She waved at him. "What's up, Shadow King?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I work with arrogant, ignorant fools," Kyoya muttered before waving both girls away to get dressed.

"Did he just call me an arrogant, ignorant fool?" Andrea asked as the best friends entered the changing rooms.

"Yes, and I don't blame him," Katie muttered as she walked into her changing room and drew the curtain. "You're acting so childishly…"

Andrea laughed as she shut the curtain to her changing area. "Alright, alright, I'll try act more mature…"

"_Try_?"

"It's not that easy, you know."

About fifteen minutes later, both girls emerged wearing their cosplay outfits. The theme this time seemed to be Disney characters, which Andrea and Katie had both suggested. The two girls were dressed as two of the Disney Fairies – Tinkerbell and Iridessa – with their hair done up to match the outfits they were wearing.

Katie sighed as she moved the blonde wig so that it was more comfortable on her head. "Why do I have to wear this again?" She was wearing a green dress with green flats that had pompoms on them, and she had plastic wings attached to her back. She wasn't wearing an apron, but held her tray – which looked like it was made out of a piece of bark, strangely – in her hands.

"Because we suggested Disney characters," Andrea pointed out, adjusting her yellow dress slightly and making sure her bun was in place. "And the guys thought that since we were female, we should be the Disney Fairies."

Katie huffed. "That's a bit sexist, don't you think?"

Andrea smirked. "I just feel sorry for anyone that has to be Peter Pan…"

Katie's eyes widened. "I hope to high heaven that it's not Tamaki. If it is, I will die."

Andrea laughed as she grabbed her tray – that also happened to look like a piece of bark – and headed towards the Host Club room. "Yeah, because we both know that you want it to be Hikaru, right?"

"Shut up!" Katie froze when she saw the rest of the Host Club members. "Uh, Andrea?"

"Yeah?" Andrea was just as shocked as she was.

"When we suggested Disney characters, did we say _Peter Pan_ characters?"

"…No…"

"Then please tell me why Tamaki is Peter and Kyoya is Captain Hook…"

Andrea had to snigger a little at that. "You know, they don't seem too bad as the Lost Boys of Neverland…"

Katie laughed. "That's a good point." She looked at all of their costumes.

Tamaki, obviously, was Peter Pan, and stood proudly in his green costume and hat with funny shoes for a couple of seconds before running around childishly. He wore a red wig under the hat to give him the appearance of having red hair, and wore green tights with a green t-shirt as well as dirty yellow shoes.

Kyoya, on the other hand, was dressed as his long time enemy captain hook, wearing the full outfit including the feathered hat, a long curly wig, the large red coat and long socks with black shoes. Where his left hand should have been there was a hook, and the pen he was writing with looked like a small sword.

Haruhi was dressed in a rabbit costume, made so that she would look like Nibs – one of the Lost Boys. She looked extremely bored in the costume as she sat at her table, waiting for the guests to arrive. She waved at Andrea and Katie when she saw them before going back to moping at her table.

Hunny and Mori were dressed as Slightly and Tootles, two of the other Lost Boys, with Mori dressed as the much larger Slightly – wearing a fox costume with a blonde wig underneath to make him look like the Lost Boy – and Hunny dressed like the much smaller Tootles – wearing a cute little skunk costume with a black wig.

But what amused the girls greatly was the fact that the twins were dressed as the twins from the movie, both wearing raccoon costumes. The fact that they were both redheads meant that they didn't have to wear wigs to make themselves look more like them, and the constant grins they wore on their faces made them look more like Cheshire cats.

"Next time we should suggest Alice in Wonderland," Katie pointed out as she walked over to the kitchen with Andrea in tow.

"Yes, and then you can be the big-headed Red Queen and I can be the beautiful White Queen," Andrea said, smirking.

Katie glared at her one they'd entered the kitchen. "Shut up."

Andrea sighed as she watched Katie prepare the tea. "It's a shame no one offered to be Cubby…"

"Are you offering?" Katie asked with a smirk on her face.

"Pssh, no. I'm not that fat."

"So you admit that you're fat?"

Andrea glared at Katie. "I admit I could lose a bit of weight."

"You could, but you won't."

"You know me so well…" Andrea grabbed some cupcakes and set them on her tray before getting the biscuits. "So, what's going on with you and Hikaru, then?"

Katie blushed, smiling slightly. "Well, the act is still working…"

"I saw it yesterday." Andrea grinned. "You two seemed mighty comfortable with Hikaru on top…"

Katie glared at Andrea. "You are _so dirty_."

"I know." She smirked. "How about _beyond_ the act?"

Katie shrugged. "I occasionally see him touching the necklace with a smile on his face…"

Andrea grinned. "So you loved his present to you, and he loved your present to him? Gee, ginge, I'm beginning to think you two should just go out already…"

There was a knock on the kitchen door, and Kaoru poked his head around when he'd opened it. He smiled brightly. "Hi, Katie! Hi, Andrea!"

Katie smiled. "Hey, Kaoru. What brings you to the kitchen today?"

Kaoru glanced over at Andrea. "Actually, I wanted to speak to Andrea in private."

Katie smirked. "Well, well, well. Is there another romance blooming?"

Andrea rolled her eyes at Katie. "Shut up and go, jeez. You can set up the tables whilst we talk, Tinkerbell."

Katie smiled. "Alright…" She walked out of the room with the trays of food and drinks, and Kaoru shut the door behind her.

"Andrea, we need to talk."

Andrea rolled her eyes at him. "Jeez, you think I didn't realize that when you told Katie to leave and shut the door?"

Kaoru sighed. "Andrea, Hikaru wants to ask her out."

Andrea froze. "He does?"

"Yeah. He told me earlier on…"

She was deep in thought now, trying to decide how to go ahead with this.

Kaoru frowned. "Isn't this what you wanted? To get them together and be happy?"

Andrea sighed. "Yeah, I do, but…" She sighed. "Remember what we said had to happen before they started dating? They had to be intimate, they had to be cute, and they had to have a rough spot."

Kaoru sighed. "They've been through a rough spot already! At the end of the last semester, they had this little problem. You should've seen how hard Hikaru worked to make everything better between them again."

"Really?" Andrea's eyes widened. "Wow…" She bit her lip. "Kaoru, I don't know what to do…"

Kaoru sighed. "Neither do I…" He bit his lip. "Do you think Haruhi would know?"

"She wants the plan to go ahead anyway, Kaoru," Andrea sighed. "You know that."

Kaoru nodded. "I know, I know. I'm just… really conflicted…"

Andrea nodded. "When do you think she's going to tell them?"

Kaoru frowned. "Tell who?"

"The rest of the club."

Kaoru frowned before he realized what she meant. "She'll tell them when she's ready. Kyoya already knows."

"How do you know?"

"He knows all."

The pair laughed before they settled into a comfortable silence. They thought about what should happen for a couple of minutes before Andrea spoke up.

"I'm not going to do anything."

Kaoru's eyes snapped up at her. "What?"

"I'm not going to do anything else to interfere," Andrea explained. "You can do what you want, but I've done what I can. It seems as if all that's left to get them together is Hikaru actually asking her the big question."

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, but… I don't want to lose him…" he muttered. "He's my only brother," he added quietly.

Andrea gave him a reassuring smile. "Well, I know whatever I say won't convince you, but you do what you think is best, Kaoru." She patted him on the arm before picking up some of the food and walking out of the room to help Katie finish off setting up for club.

Kaoru sighed as he leaned on the counter, thinking. _What was he meant to do? Hikaru's happiness meant everything to him, but… losing him to Katie meant that he was losing his only brother. He was the only thing he had…_

Katie re-entered the kitchen to find Kaoru leaning against a counter, deep in thought. "Hey, Kaoru."

Kaoru's eyes snapped up to meet Katie's. "Oh, hey, Katie."

Katie walked over to one of the cupboards and started pulling out the ingredients to make more tea. "What's up? You seem to be thinking a lot…"

Kaoru sighed. "Well…"

* * *

Hikaru took a deep breath as he sat alone at his and Kaoru's table, trying to think over what he would say. _'Hey, Katie. I've been thinking…' No… too lame… 'Katie, I want you to go out with me and be my girlfriend…' No, too forward… 'Hey, Katie…'_

"Hikaru? Are you alright?"

Hikaru looked up and noticed Andrea was staring down at him. "Hmm? Oh, Andrea. Yeah, I'm fine…" He put his head in his hands as he sighed.

Andrea smirked. "So you're finally going to ask her?"

Hikaru looked up sharply. "What?"

She chuckled. "Kaoru told me, don't worry." She placed a plate of biscuits at the table. "You know, I think it's about time you asked her. I've only seen the way you two act around each other for a few months, and you two look like you're just about ready to suck each other's faces off." She grinned. "And I know that thought has crossed both your minds many times before."

Hikaru's face went bright red as he remembered the time he'd walked in on Katie. "Yeah, well… I'm going to ask her. I didn't need your opinion on it."

Andrea shrugged. "Oh well." She headed away to place more cupcakes on Hunny's table.

Hikaru frowned. "Hey, Andrea?"

She turned back to face him. "Yeah, Hikaru?"

"Have you seen Kaoru around anywhere? I have a feeling that the customers are going to arrive soon…"

"Last I saw he was in the kitchen," she explained. "Katie's probably in there too, so I think they're talking."

Hikaru nodded. "Alright." He got up. "I'll be back in a minute, Iridessa," he teased, referring to her cosplay outfit.

Andrea smirked. "Take as long as you want, _Twin One_," she bit back in a teasing tone.

Hikaru chuckled as he walked over to the kitchen. "Very funny, Iridessa. Very funny."

* * *

"What did you want to talk about, Kaoru?" Katie asked curiously.

Kaoru sighed. "Well, I have this friend," he started, "who has a brother that he holds very dear to him, and he's found out that his brother really likes this girl…"

Katie's eyebrows rose, and she suddenly became more interested. "Go on…"

"Yeah, so his brother is considering asking this girl out on a date, but he doesn't want his brother to ask because he's afraid that their relationship will change…"

Katie thought about it. "Has he ever considered that their relationship might work out for the better?"

Kaoru frowned. "How?"

"Well, his brother would have more to talk to him about, and their conversations would be more valuable because they don't always get to talk to each other. Not only that, but they would grow as people due to them being in relationships, and they'd be able to give each other advice based on experiences."

Kaoru smiled. "You're right, Katie! But… what if it doesn't get better? How does he know whether it will get better or not?" His face fell at the thought of everything becoming worse.

Katie thought about it. "Kaoru, have you ever heard of Schrödinger's cat?" she asked.

Kaoru frowned. "I've heard about it, but I don't remember it…" He thought about it. "Does it have something to do with a cat?"

Katie laughed. "Yeah, it does. A scientist called Schrödinger was trying to explain a theory, so he came up with an analogy. A cat, a flask of poison and a source of radioactivity are placed in a box. When a monitor detects radioactivity, it will shatter the flask and release the poison, causing the cat to die. Because of the nature of radioactive substances, no one will ever be certain when the flask will be destroyed, so we don't know whether the cat is alive or dead."

Kaoru frowned. "So…?"

"The cat is both alive and dead at the same time."

Kaoru huffed. "I don't get it! Science confuses me!"

Katie sighed. "Basically, what it's saying is you won't know the outcome until you actually act out."

Kaoru frowned as he attempted to comprehend. "So, he won't know whether it'll benefit him or harm him until it happens?"

Katie smiled. "Exactly."

"So the best thing to do is to let his brother go ahead with it?"

"I guess so."

Kaoru grinned. "Thanks, Katie!" He pulled her in for a tight hug.

Katie laughed. "It's okay, Kaoru, honestly."

He let her go before leaning in to kiss her softly on the cheek.

Katie blushed as he did so.

And that's when the door slammed open.

* * *

Hikaru walked over to the kitchen, feeling slightly nervous. He took a deep breath. _I always feel like this when I'm around her… gosh, I must really be in love with her…_ He grinned at that thought.

As he neared the door, he heard the faint murmuring of Katie and Kaoru as they conversed. He could only hear faint traces of the conversation, but he had an idea about what they were discussing. Just as he opened the door, he spotted Kaoru pulling away from Katie as if he'd just hugged her.

He smiled.

And then he kissed her on the cheek.

Hikaru felt his heart literally break… _just as it had with Haruhi_... In his anger, he slammed the door open and stormed away, out of the Host Club room and as far away as he could get.

The slamming of the door caught Andrea's attention, and she looked up to see Hikaru storming away from the kitchen looking furious. Mere seconds later, Kaoru and Katie appeared at the kitchen door, their eyes wide.

"Hikaru! Wait!" Katie cried as she ran after him. Kaoru followed not long after.

Andrea stopped the younger twin as he reached the door. "What happened?"

Kaoru's eyes were wide. "Hikaru… he saw us…"

Andrea's grip tightened on his arm. "What did he see you doing?"

"I… I kissed Katie on the cheek…"

Andrea stared at him in shock. "YOU IDIOT! YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!" She slapped him hard around the back of his head to avoid slapping him around the face.

Kaoru winced. "Ow…"

The rest of the club ran over to them.

"What's going on?" Tamaki asked, worried for the older twin.

Andrea and Kaoru shared a look before answering.

"One complicated as heck love story."

* * *

Hikaru continued to wipe tears from his face as he ran away from the Host Club room, not knowing exactly where he was going. He was surprised when he found himself on the school's roof a cool breeze blowing. He ripped off the headgear for the costume he was wearing and threw it down to the floor angrily, his body shaking and tears rolling down his cheeks freely. He walked over to the wall and leaned on it.

He allowed himself to relax, letting the wind flow into his face and calm him down, until Katie arrived.

"Hikaru!" she cried as she reached the roof. She became even more worried when he didn't turn to look at her. "Hikaru?"

"Go away," he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hikaru, please…"

"Go away!" he yelled, turning to face her with tears running down his cheeks. "I hate you!"

Katie stepped back, slightly shocked by his outburst, before tears welled up in her eyes. "F-fine! If you feel that way, then I hate you too!"

Hikaru felt his heart break again, and it only fuelled his anger further. "Fine!" He turned away from her angrily. "Leave," his voice faltered. "I don't… I don't think I ever want to see you again."

Tears spilled down Katie's cheeks. "F-f-fine!" She turned away from him and ran straight back into the building, not caring who she ran into.

When Tamaki saw Katie running back down the corridors, crying her eyes out, his first instinct was to pull her into a tight hug and soothe her.

Which was exactly what he did.

Katie welcomed the hug and buried her face into his chest, shaking violently with tears. Tamaki rubbed his hand up and down her back and looked over to Andrea and Kaoru, both of whom had worried looks on their faces.

And only one thought ran through their minds.

_What has Hikaru done now?_

* * *

**Ooooh, drama...**_  
_

**Review!**


	11. Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 2

**Hey, readers! I have your next episode for you! Enjoy it!**

* * *

Operation Get Katie and Hikaru together part 2

Katie shook as she carefully took the tea that was offered to her. "T-t-th-thank you…" she muttered quietly as she took the tea, sipping it carefully.

Club had been called off suddenly that day due to what had happened, as Tamaki didn't feel the members were in the right state of mind to Host customers today.

More specifically, Hikaru and Katie, both of whom were in distraught states after their recent outbursts.

Andrea rubbed Katie's back soothingly as she watched her best friend drink the tea. "How are feeling?"

Katie gave her a look as if to say, '_Are you really that stupid?_'.

Andrea shrugged. "I just want to know."

Katie sighed. "I feel depressed." She continued to sip the tea quietly.

Andrea hugged Katie. "Hey, don't be depressed. Everything is gonna work out for the better—"

"How can you even _say_ that?!" Katie screamed suddenly, causing Andrea to jump back suddenly. "You've never been in love and then had your heart broken, have you?"

Andrea stared at Katie in shock for a couple of seconds before she glared. "No, but I've dealt with depressed best friends multiple times before. And trust me when I say this – they're lucky that I'm still even talking to them." She got up and walked away.

"No, wait, Andrea…" Katie called out, trying to get Andrea to come back. "I'm sorry…" She bit her lip before sitting back on the couch, feeling rejected, and started to cry.

* * *

As soon as the twins got home that evening, Hikaru stormed upstairs to his room and slammed the door shut behind him, not even sparing a glance at his brother.

Kaoru winced when he heard the door slam shut. Hikaru had avoided even talking to him in the limo all the way back to the mansion, his gaze instead focused on whatever was on the other side of the tinted windows, and now he wasn't even looking at him.

Kaoru looked wistfully up the stairs, where Hikaru had gone, before making his way up and over to Hikaru's bedroom door. He knocked timidly.

"Go away, Kaoru."

Kaoru frowned. _How did he know it was me?_ "Hikaru, I just want to talk…"

"Go. Away."

Kaoru sighed. "Hikaru…"

Hikaru opened the door abruptly, and Kaoru saw the tear tracks on his face and the redness of his eyes. "Do you not understand, Kaoru? I don't want to talk. Especially not to you!" He slammed the door shut.

Kaoru sighed. "You do want to talk, Hikaru…"

"No I don't! Just go away!"

Kaoru knocked on the door again. "Please, Hikaru! Can we just talk?" When he got no answer, he knocked again. "Hikaru, please!" His voice continued to become more pleading. "Hikaru!" he begged as he began to cry.

* * *

Hikaru sat on the other side of the door, covering his ears to block out his brother's cries from the other side of the door. He didn't want to hear him now. He didn't want to even look at the bother that betrayed him so badly…

Tears ran down his cheeks as he continued to hear his little brother cry for him from the other side of the door, and he closed his eyes tightly as he tried to block everything out. He was shaking with tears as he choked back sobs and bit his lip. _Please, Kaoru… go away…_

It wasn't until about an hour later that Kaoru finally left the older twin in peace, as some of the maids had come to drive him away.

Hikaru stood up shakily, wiping tears from his face with the back of his hand and leaning on the door. As he did so, he summarized everything that had happened that day.

_One: I told Kaoru that I was going to ask Katie out._

_Two: Kaoru looked slightly upset, but said me asking Katie out was a good idea._

_Three: After we get changed and wait for the guests to arrive, Kaoru goes to the kitchen and Katie leaves, meaning he's talking to Andrea._

_Four: Andrea leaves the kitchen after what must've been a long discussion, and Katie enters the kitchen not long after. Kaoru is in there._

_Five: Andrea and I have a short conversation, and she knows that I want to ask Katie out. She then tells me they're both in the kitchen._

_Six: I go to the kitchen door and hear Katie and Kaoru having a friendly conversation._

_Seven: I open the door, and Kaoru is kissing Katie._

_Eight: I explode and run off._

_Nine: Katie follows me up to the roof and we argue._

_Ten: I tell Katie I hate her. She says she hates me too…_

Hikaru slid back down the door at his last thought, and he felt himself sobbing again. _How did everything go so wrong?_

When he finally managed to pull himself up and make his way over to his bed, he caught a glance of himself in the mirror and froze. Hatred returned when he saw the face that was exactly like Kaoru's and he clenched his fists tightly.

That's when he saw the bottle sitting on his dresser, still untouched from when he'd bought it the other day. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

He didn't want to look like Kaoru anymore.

He needed a change.

* * *

Andrea sighed as she watched Katie walk into class the next day, her bag hanging loosely on her back and her uniform and hair looking untidy. Her face was pale, and her eyes looked red and puffy as if she had been crying.

"Katie!" Andrea called out, smiling and waving at her best friend.

Katie gave her a weak smile before walking over. "Hey, Andrea."

"What's up with you? Are you ill?"

Katie gave her a blank look. "No."

Andrea's face became sad and serious. "Are you still feeling depressed?"

Katie nodded, tears coming to her eyes as her lower lip quivered.

Andrea got up and pulled Katie into a hug, rubbing her back reassuringly. "It'll be okay, Katie. It'll be alright."

"H-h-h-how c-c-can you b-be sure?" Katie sobbed into Andrea's shoulder.

"Because I can, and if I can, then you can," Andrea said, holding her friend at arm's length and giving her a reassuring smile.

Katie smiled back and wiped the tears from her face, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, Andrea."

"You're welcome."

"You know, since we're on this subject, you and Kaoru make a cute couple."

Andrea's face went blank before she raised an eyebrow at Katie. "Me and Kaoru? Seriously?" She shook her head. "You must be going nuts, because there's no way that Kaoru and I would ever go out."

"Yeah, sure."

"Hey, you two."

Andrea and Katie both looked up to see Kaoru walking over, his face pale and his eyes red much like Katie's. The only difference was that he'd made an effort to do his hair that morning, and his uniform looked relatively spotless.

Andrea smiled. "Hey, Kaoru."

Katie avoided looking at him. "Hi…"

Kaoru bit his lip. "Hi…"

"How are you?" Andrea asked, flinching when he glared at her.

"Could be better," he muttered sourly.

"Hikaru's still mad at you, huh?"

"I left home alone this morning," Kaoru explained. "I've never had to leave home alone unless Hikaru is ill! He refuses to even come out of his room to look at me! He ignored me yesterday all the way home!" He put his head in his hands. "I've never seen Hikaru this mad with me. Never." He sighed. "Maybe I should visit Hunny-senpai after school today…"

Andrea nodded. "Alright."

Katie was just about to say something when there was a collective gasp and sudden murmurs around the classroom. She frowned and noticed that Andrea had an expression of shock on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Turn around," she whispered.

Katie did as she was told and gasped, gripping the table for support.

Hikaru had walked into the classroom, bags under his eyes, messed up uniform, scruffy hair, his school bag hung over his shoulder. Nothing about his had changed…

Apart from the fact that his hair had been dyed.

The usually bright red hair was now coloured an ash-brown to match his dark mood, and it hung low rather than being spiked up as usual. As he walked over to his seat, he glared at anyone who got in his way, scaring all of his fangirls with his look.

Katie and Andrea turned to Kaoru, who seemed to look just as shocked as they were. "Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked down at them. "Y-y-yeah?"

Andrea frowned. "You didn't know?"

"He locked himself in his room. I didn't know what he was doing…" Tears welled up in his eyes. "It's like he doesn't want to be my twin anymore…"

Katie bit her lip. "He knew I loved his red hair…"

Andrea continued to stare at Hikaru, unnerving the teenager and forcing to look up and meet her eyes. She sent him a cold glare, forcing him to shudder slightly and look away.

Katie took a deep breath. "And now I have to sit next to him for two whole lessons…"

Andrea thought about it. "You can switch places with me, if you want to?"

She shook her head. "No thank you. I… I think I can deal with it…" She forced a smile on her face. "I'll live."

Andrea nodded, even though she was still wary. "Just… watch out for what he says, yeah? I think he's a ticking time bomb at the moment – anything could set him off."

Katie nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," she muttered to Andrea before walking over to her seat, which happened to be right next to Hikaru's.

Andrea watched Katie as she walked over to her seat, making sure that any interactions between her and Hikaru didn't go sour. As soon as the redhead sat down, she made her way to her own seat on the far side of Kaoru.

About five minutes later, their teacher walked in. "Good morning, class!"

"Good morning," the class droned.

"Right, today we'll be working on debating skills. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Andrea and Katie looked over at each other and shared a knowing smirk. They'd both studied debating and arguing skills back in England, so this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Now, I know this may seem a little sexist, but I thought I would let you all have fun today and let you have a 'boys versus girls' debate."

Andrea grinned. "Oh, this will be fun."

* * *

Once they'd split into the two sides of the class, two desks were pushed up to the front of the class to act as podiums and all of the other desks were pushed to the sides and back of the class to make space.

"Today's first debate article: whether girls should be allowed to wear trousers to school. Could two students please step up to the podiums with their opening reasons, please?"

Haruhi took a deep breath before stepping up onto the girls' podium. "We, as a group, have come to the conclusion that girls should be allowed to wear trousers to school."

The debate seemed to go well for a while before Hikaru went up onto the podium against Andrea.

"I believe girls should be able to wear trousers as some believe that the skirts worn are highly uncomfortable and can be used to give the girls a 'slutty' appearance," Andrea started.

"Objection," Hikaru interrupted. "If girls are allowed to wear trousers then boys should be allowed to wear skirts. Boys aren't allowed to wear skirts, so girls shouldn't be allowed to wear trousers—"

"Objection," Andrea interrupted with a smirk. "Fallacy: Ad Hominem Tu Quoque. Your argument is now invalid."

There were some gasps from around the room, and people began to murmur excitedly. The teacher smirked.

"This is going to get interesting…"

Hikaru felt his temper start to rise. She was trying to tick him off, and he knew it. "Okay, girls shouldn't be allowed to wear trousers because the fact that their legs are covered makes them less feminine—"

"Are you trying to say that trousers are what makes a person more masculine?" Andrea asked, her eyebrows raised.

"No…"

"Because that is clearly what you said, Mr Hitachiin."

Some of the girls began to smirk and giggle at how easily Hikaru was getting beaten at the podium. The elder Hitachiin's short temper was doing nothing to help the situation at hand.

Hikaru took a deep breath. "Girls shouldn't be allowed to wear trousers because… because…" He raked his brain trying to think of another reason.

Andrea smirked. "Because…?"

"Because girls are girls!" Hikaru exploded. "Girls are meant to walk around showing off their feminism by showing their legs off!"

Andrea raised her eyebrows as the rest of the girls gasped and stared at Hikaru in horror. "First of all, that's extremely sexist, and secondly, girls should have choice whether or not they want to show off their legs. I mean, by the way you put it, you make it sound like 'all girls should be sluts'." She sighed. "Please make your reasoning clearer and less prejudiced in the future, Mr Hitachiin, otherwise it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to get backing for your arguments."

Hikaru fumed, his face going bright red.

Kaoru bit his lip. "Hikaru, maybe someone else should—"

"Yeah, well if I'm sexist you're an idiot! Girls shouldn't wear trousers because they're not smart or masculine enough to!"

"Because trousers make a girl more masculine?" Andrea asked.

Katie could see where this was going and grinned.

"Yes!" Hikaru said.

"Objection!" Katie called out. "Fallacy: Circular argument. Your argument is invalid!"

Hikaru's eyes widened when he heard her call out and he snarled. "Shut up. It's not your turn!"

"Actually, Miss Brigden's sighting is valid, Mr Hitachiin," the teacher said. "Please think up another argument, or let someone else onto the podium."

Kaoru tapped his brother's shoulder. "Hika, maybe I should go up…"

"Shut up, Kaoru. I can handle this."

Kaoru looked doubtful. "Hikaru, your temper is returning…"

Hikaru turned around to glare at his brother. "It is not!" he snapped.

"Yes it is," Kaoru answered calmly.

"Leave me alone! You're always on my case!"

"Mr Hitachiin," Andrea sang. "I'm waiting…"

"Hikaru, let me handle this…" Kaoru started.

"No!"

"You should let Kaoru on, Hikaru," some of the other boys were saying. "He has less of a temper and more experience…"

Hikaru ground his teeth, annoyed by what was happening.

"Hikaru…" Kaoru warned, seeing the look on his brother's face. "Don't—"

"Fine! Have your stupid debate!" Hikaru stormed away from the podium and out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"—do anything stupid," Kaoru sighed, knowing the warning would have fallen on deaf ears.

The whole class went silent, and even Andrea looked slightly guilty before she headed towards the classroom door.

"Miss Mante?"

Andrea froze. "Yes, sir?"

"I advise you not to follow Mr Hitachiin unless you want a detention."

Andrea sighed. "Yes, sir." She walked back over to the girls' side of the room, and met Kaoru's eyes once she'd turned around. The same thought was flashing through both their minds.

_What do we do now?_

* * *

It wasn't until lunch time that Hikaru was seen again, and that was mainly because he stood out as he was eating alone. His now dark hair was a stark contrast to his pale face.

Haruhi nudged Andrea when she saw the twin. "Look."

Andrea looked up and over to where he sat before getting up with her tray. Her movement caught both Katie and Kaoru's attentions.

"Where are you going?" Katie asked.

"I need to talk to someone," Andrea explained. "But I'll see you in class, alright?"

Both redheads nodded and watched as Andrea headed over to where Hikaru sat. A scowl grew on Katie's face.

"What is she doing?" she hissed.

Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know… only she does…"

Andrea gave Hikaru a reassuring smile as she sat down opposite him, placing her tray down. "Hey, Hikaru."

He merely looked up at her and grunted before going back to his own meal.

Andrea sighed. "Look, Hikaru, I'm sorry, alright? I got a bit carried away with the debate today, and I hurt your feelings. I know that now."

"You humiliated me, Andrea," he said quietly. "I've never felt so humiliated in my life…"

"And I apologise for it." She gave him a small smile. "Forgive me?"

Hikaru contemplated it for a little while before smiling at her. "I forgive you. It was a debate, after all. I should've kept my cool."

"Or let Kaoru handle it."

He paused. "Yeah, I should've."

The two ate in silence for a little while before Andrea spoke up.

"Are you coming to Club tonight?"

Hikaru paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I… I guess…"

"Good." She smiled.

He frowned. _What is she planning?_

* * *

"Forget it."

Kyoya sighed. "Hikaru, all we are asking is for you to perform your usual act with the other members in order to entertain our customers," he explained.

"Well, you can forget it. You must be out of your freaking mind, Kyoya." Hikaru folded his arms.

Andrea sighed. "Hikaru…"

"I'm not doing it."

Then Tamaki made the mistake of asking, "Why not?"

Andrea cringed. _Oh boy..._

Hikaru's face contorted into a sneer. "Because there's no way I'd do some stupid little sibling act with that backstabbing idiot of a ginger that I am forced to call my brother," he spat.

Kaoru cringed as he stood behind his older brother, suffering the verbal blows. He felt tears pool in his eyes at how Hikaru seemed to feel at that moment, and he tried desperately not to snap straight back at him.

Andrea's jaw was clenched shut and she grabbed Hikaru by the ear, dragging him into one of the changing rooms.

"Ow, ow, ow… OW!" Hikaru whined as he was dragged along. When they finally got into the changing rooms, Andrea let go and he rubbed his ear. "That hurt…"

Andrea just glared at him before slapping him hard across the face.

Hikaru's eyes widened as his head snapped to the side before he turned to Andrea. "Hey! What was that—"

"You're an idiot, Hikaru!"

Hikaru was stunned into silence at her remark.

"You go around accusing everybody of something that is partially, if not fully, your fault! You expect everyone to believe you and stand on your side, but you don't even consider the opposing sides of the argument!"

Hikaru began to glare. "Now wait just a—"

"Shut up and listen," she growled.

He shut his mouth with an audible click.

"Have you even considered asking Kaoru or Katie what happened in the kitchen yesterday?"

"I don't—"

"Have you?"

Hikaru was quiet for a few seconds before he hung his head. "No…"

"The brother that you've had since you were born, the only person that has a chance of knowing you better than you know yourself, and you don't forgive him? You don't even consider asking him what happened? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Hikaru cringed.

"I swear, if you don't go talk to Kaoru soon, there is going to be some serious backlash." Andrea turned to walk out of the changing rooms. She paused on her way out. "And quit fooling yourself. You still have feelings for Katie."

Hikaru stood there, stunned, as Andrea left the room, not sparing him another look. His mind was racing with thoughts. _Is she right? Am I really lying to myself?_ He thought back to when he'd been standing on the roof with her and the truth hit him hard, causing him to lean on the wall for support.

_I still love her…_

Tears pricked at his eyes. "What have I done?" he muttered brokenly to himself as he began to cry.

* * *

Andrea looked over at Haruhi as they listened to Hikaru in the changing rooms and nodded to each other.

"Initiate the plan."

* * *

**Review!**


	12. Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 3

**Hey, readers! I have your next episode here for you! Enjoy!**

* * *

Operation Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 3

Hikaru took a deep breath before crossing the Host Club floor nervously, wringing his hands. Once he'd reached his destination, he tapped the person's shoulder gently.

Kaoru turned to see who had tapped his shoulder, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Hikaru there. "Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me." Hikaru took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Kaoru's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'm an idiot. I should've listened to you before getting mad…"

"Hikaru it's only been a day…"

Hikaru nodded. "I know, and I want to set everything right."

Kaoru stared at him, slightly shocked, before smiling. "I forgive you, Hikaru." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you want to know what happened yesterday… with Katie and I?"

Hikaru's eyes narrowed involuntarily, and he bit his lip as he contemplated it. Finally he nodded and took a calming breath. "Yes, I do."

Kaoru nodded, giving his brother an awkward smile. "Let's sit and chat, then." He sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside him.

Hikaru sat down obediently.

"Would you like some tea?" Kaoru asked, signalling to the teapot and teacups that were on the coffee table in front of them.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Are you chatting with me or hosting me?"

Kaoru chuckled. "A simple '_No_' would have been fine." He sighed. "So, where shall I start…?"

"The beginning would be nice." Hikaru sat forward and prepared himself to listen to the story intently.

"Right, the beginning." Kaoru took a deep breath. "It began when Andrea first came in… when you and Katie were doing that act. She and Haruhi decided it would be a fun idea to try and set you both up, so they dragged me into it because of that whole jealousy act.

"It wasn't long until they decided to put their plan into action, so we decided to make sure you had some sort of defensive moment, when you defended each other without knowing. Then we made sure you had an intimate moment, when you fell on top of her." He smirked. "According to Andrea, you were on top of her for a very long time…"

Hikaru had the decency to blush. "Just… carry on with the story, Kaoru."

"So, the plan was going well… until you told me about your decision to ask Katie out. Of course, I was pleased, but I was conflicted. I… I felt like you were finally moving on… like you were leaving me behind in a way…

"I told Andrea about your decision, and she said that I should make my own decision, but she was going to leave you two to work the rest of it out of your own. After that, I spoke to Katie and asked her about my… dilemma…"

Hikaru's eyes widened. "You told her that I was going to ask her out?!"

Kaoru shook his head quickly. "No, no! I used an analogy! She might suspect it… but I didn't tell her!"

Hikaru's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Fine. So you spoke to Katie…"

"Yeah, and she advised me on what to do. I was so grateful to her…" Kaoru bit his lip. "It cleared everything for me. I… I didn't mean to kiss her…"

Hikaru bit his lip, suddenly feeling guilty for shutting both his brother and his crush out. The whole thing had been an accident, whilst they had been helping him to try and ask Katie all along. "It's okay."

Kaoru frowned. "What?"

"I understand now. I get why you were so hostile towards me…" He gave Kaoru a small smile. "It's okay, Kaoru. Stop beating yourself up over it."

Kaoru smiled. "You always know how I'm feeling…"

"That's because I'm your brother." Hikaru grinned at Kaoru. "I'm meant to know how you're feeling."

Kaoru chuckled. "Yeah, I guess…"

The two sat in silence for a little while, finally able to feel comfortable around each other. Even though it had only been a day, they'd secretly yearned for the comfort that the other provided.

Then Kaoru spoke up. "Hey, do you want to hang out?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"We could have a picnic on the roof tomorrow at lunch?"

Hikaru pouted. "What about tonight?"

"Homework tonight. Very busy."

Hikaru considered it. "Okay. That sounds cool."

"So tomorrow at lunch?"

"Sure."

* * *

Katie sighed as she placed another group of dishes in the dishwasher. _One job done, one more to go_. She started putting food back in the appropriate cupboards.

"Hey, ginge."

Katie smirked as she turned to see Andrea standing at the kitchen door, cloth and spray bleach in her hands. "Hey, you finished cleaning the tables?"

"Every one of them smells lemony fresh."

"And the floor?"

"Squeaky clean. Not a single stain."

Katie smiled gratefully. "Thanks for the help."

Andrea smiled as she put the cleaning items away. "Hey, I have the same job as you. I should be doing this every day, but no one told me that you did all of the cleaning. I thought it was a maid…" She paused. "Hey, do you think I should do some of the baking? I can make cakes too."

Katie smiled. "Seriously? That would be awesome!"

"I can make chocolate chip cupcakes and cinnamon and raisin cake, and cupcakes with frosting and chocolates on top."

"That would be awesome!"

"Okay, what flavours do you think I should make?"

Katie shrugged. "Not sure…"

"Do you think I should make flavours according to what the different members like? Because I think it would be so cool…"

Katie tensed slightly, but nodded.

"So… what's Hikaru's favourite flavour?"

Katie dropped the plate she was holding, letting it shatter on the floor.

Andrea winced. "Oops…"

"Don't mention him again," Katie said lowly.

Andrea nodded hastily. "Sorry." She helped Katie to pick up the pieces of shattered china on the floor. "Do you… do you mind telling me what happened?" she asked, even though she knew exactly what happened. Katie had been crying about it for the whole of yesterday, and had told her everything already.

"I've already told you, baka. And I don't want to say it again."

Andrea sighed. "You know what? We should have a long talk about guys and who we like sometime soon."

Katie cringed. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We haven't had a proper girly talk in ages." She thought about it. "How about tomorrow on the roof? We could have a picnic?"

Katie smiled. "A picnic sounds nice…"

"So, are you in?"

Katie smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"I'll cook the food. You just meet me up there, okay? I'll make bacon sandwiches and buy BBQ flavour crisps and double chocolate muffins."

Katie grinned. "You are the best friend ever."

"I know."

* * *

Andrea whistled to herself as she continued to make the food for the picnic. She'd woken up earlier than usual that morning to get the food needed – she'd bought the crisps the night before along with the drinks, and the cupcakes were baking whilst she made the bacon sandwiches. She'd also put in a cooler, which held some cones of mint chocolate chip Cornettos. She smiled as she finished frying the bacon and began to put them into sandwiches.

"Hey, you're making bacon?!"

Andrea sighed as she heard her younger brother enter the kitchen. "Not for me, for a friend."

Jude's eyes narrowed. "Why are you making bacon sandwiches for Katie? Can't she make them herself?"

"Well, Hikaru likes them too."

His eyes widened. "You're making a picnic for them?!"

"They don't know, and they won't know until lunch time today."

"So you're setting them up?"

"Uh-huh."

The doorbell rang, and Andrea turned to her brother as she continued to make the lunch. "Hey, Jude, get that, will you?"

Jude's eyes narrowed. "Why can't you?"

She sighed. "I'm currently holding a knife. Go and answer the door," she ordered again.

Jude frowned at her before going to answer the door. He smiled when he saw who was standing there. "Andrea! It's one of those Hitachiin twins!"

Andrea frowned. "Which one?" she called back.

"Uh…" her little brother frowned. "I don't know."

"What colour is his hair?"

"Ginger?"

Andrea's face brightened. "Oh, it's Kaoru! Let him in!"

Kaoru smiled at Jude as he was let into the Mante household, his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. "Hey, Andrea!" he called out as he walked into the kitchen. He paused when he saw the half-filled picnic hamper. "Woah… that's a lot of food…"

Andrea chuckled. "Well, it's for Hikaru and Katie, right?"

"Good point." Kaoru put his bag down beside the dining table. "Need any help?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm good." She continued to put the bacon sandwiches together. "Hey, guess what Katie said to me yesterday?"

Kaoru watched her make the sandwiches with mild interest. "What did she tell you?" he asked, intrigued.

"She said that we should go out."

He stared at Andrea in shock. "What?" he managed to splutter out after a few seconds.

"You heard me."

He frowned. "No offence, but why would I go out with you?" he asked.

Andrea shrugged. "I dunno." She finished making the sandwiches and put them in the picnic hamper. "Did you only come over to help?" she asked.

"Well… I brought muffins…" he said as he pulled a brown paper bag out of his school bag. "And I was wondering, since you're bringing in a huge picnic hamper for those guys, would you like a lift?"

She smiled. "That would be nice. It would save me walking to school! Thanks, Kaoru!"

Jude smirked as he walked into the kitchen. "And you thought Katie was kidding…" he muttered.

Kaoru frowned. "Huh?"

"Nothing!" Jude said as he quickly grabbed his school bag and walked out. "I've got to head off now! Bye!" he called out as he grabbed his keys and left, shutting the front door behind him.

"Bye!" Andrea called back as she closed the hamper. She turned to Kaoru. "Seeing as I'm not walking to school today, I'll just go and change into my dress." She smiled at him. "I'll be right back!" She quickly headed upstairs to change into her school uniform.

Kaoru nodded, sitting down at the dining table in the middle of the kitchen. He looked around with interest.

The kitchen here was about the same size as Katie's with the same black and white marble counters, walls and flooring. However, in this kitchen the counters with the sink and stove were around the outside, leaving the centre of the room empty. This is where they had instead placed a dark oak dining table that was only large enough to seat eight people.

The rest of the house had the same layout as Katie's, considering her house was just next door. He had only been into the living room of Andrea's house, but since the sizes were exactly the same he assumed the rest would be the same.

"I'm back!" Andrea called out as she walked into the kitchen wearing her uniform. She had her bag slung over her shoulder.

Kaoru smiled. "That was pretty quick." He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder, picking up the picnic hamper. "There's a limo waiting for us outside."

Andrea nodded. "Okay. Shall we get going?"

"Uh-huh." He led the way out of the kitchen. "You coming?"

Andrea nodded and followed him, quickly putting her hair into a ponytail as she did so. "Did Hikaru travel to school alone this morning again?"

Kaoru nodded as they headed out of the front door. "He's still a little mad with me, so he said he'll travel alone until we've sorted everything out at this picnic." He smirked. "He thinks it's us having the picnic, though. Not anyone else."

"I only suggested the picnic to cheer Katie up." Andrea smiled as Kaoru opened the door of the limo for her. "Thanks." She slid into the car.

Kaoru put the picnic hamper into the limo before sliding in after her. "So, what do we do when we get to school again?"

"The hamper goes in my locker, we leave notes in each of their lockers to meet us up on the roof at lunch, just before lunch starts we sneak out of class and set the picnic up on the roof for them. Then we wait until they get onto the roof and lock the doors behind them." She smirked. "The Film Club has offered to give us their cameras for a day so that we can film this all and present it to the Host Club. Kyoya said he'd put it up on the website if we get enough good footage."

Kaoru nodded. "Right. So we'll be filming?"

"I'll be filming. You're in charge of locking the door, and then making it over to me for the filming."

"Got it, boss." He smirked. "This is going to be fun…"

"Uh-huh."

* * *

Katie sighed as she walked over to her locker to put away her Chemistry books. The last class hadn't gone all that well, considering she and Hikaru sat at the same lab bench and Andrea and Kaoru had to leave early. Although the atmosphere between the two wasn't as tense anymore, it was still very awkward for them.

Katie opened the locker, jumping slightly at the piece of paper that fell out and landed in front of her. She quickly stuffed her books in before picking up the piece of paper and smirking.

_Yo, Ginge!  
Meet me up on the roof. Picnic is up there, okay?  
Coolio,  
Andi_

She shook her head. "You can be such a baka sometimes…" she muttered, stuffing the piece of paper into her dress pocket (which her mother had oh-so-conveniently sewn on for her).

As she turned around, a dark-haired person caught her eye and she had to do a double take before realizing who it was.

Hikaru stood at his locker a few metres away, putting away his Chemistry and Physics books from earlier that day. He sighed before realizing someone was staring at him and turning to see Katie. He blushed lightly and looked away quickly.

Katie sighed before walking away from her locker and over to the east wing of the school. _I hope that's where the roof is…_

It took her a little while, but the redhead eventually found her way up to the school roof. Once she got there, she noticed that there was a picnic basket already set up on a picnic blanket. She smiled and went over to sit on the blanket, waiting for Andrea.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and Katie turned to see Hikaru standing there. They both frowned.

"What are you doing here?" they exclaimed at the same time.

Hikaru growled. "Look, I don't have time for this. Where is Kaoru?"

Katie shrugged. "I don't know. Andrea told me to meet her here…" Her eyes widened.

Hikaru frowned. "What's—"

Suddenly, the door was slammed shut behind him, causing him to jump, and it was locked from the inside. Hikaru pounded his fist against the door. "Hey! Let me in! Open up!"

Katie frowned and stood up. "Wait… we're locked out?"

"Yeah!"

Katie frowned and walked over to one of the other doors leading onto the roof, pushing the handle down to open it… only to find it was locked. She narrowed her eyes and tried again. "Those no good…"

Hikaru turned to look at her. "Do you know who did this?"

"I have a feeling I do…" She sighed and walked over to the picnic basket, opening the hamper. She frowned and pulled out a piece of paper, reading it.

Hikaru walked over. "What's that?"

Katie huffed. "Those bakas." She handed him the letter. "Read it."

Hikaru took the letter and began to read it.

_Dear ginger buddies,  
I know you're mad at us, but we've done this for a good reason.  
So be good kiddies and have this picnic we packed just for you.  
Because we don't like seeing you both so sad.  
Be happy!  
From,  
You-Know-Who-So-Why-Should-I-Tell-You_

Hikaru frowned. He knew exactly who that letter was from. "So Andrea and Kaoru locked us up here… to make up?"

Katie sighed and nodded. "Yeah…"

He sat down beside the picnic basket so that he was sitting opposite Katie. "Well, we can't let this food go to waste then, can we?"

Katie gave a small smile. "That's a good point." She reached into the hamper and pulled out the bacon sandwiches. "Om nom nom… lunch!"

Hikaru smirked slyly before reaching over and grabbing a few, leaving Katie with less than half. "Thank you."

"Hey! You pig!"

He just smirked and took a bite from one of the sandwiches. "What? I'm a growing boy."

Katie just laughed before biting into her sandwich. "Of course you are," she muttered with food in her mouth.

The two continued to eat their meal, finishing the bacon sandwiches without a hitch and then moving onto the cupcakes and muffins. The two talked amiably during the meal, smiling and laughing as if they had always been friends.

Hikaru chuckled as he watched Katie reach for another muffin. "You still want more?"

Katie smirked at him. "Well, I'm not full yet, so I'm sure I can eat more."

He smirked. "Jeez, I've never known a girl that can finish a full meal…" He took another bite out of his muffin. "All of the other girls here eat only what they get on their plates, so they never eat enough food." He smirked. "It's embarrassing really. I mean, you commoner girls eat so much…"

She huffed. "I don't eat so much! Besides, there are loads of anorexic commoners…"

"Are you an anorexic commoner?" He paused. "You don't look anorexic…"

"Well, I'm not like the girls in our school, am I?" Katie asked as she took a bite out of her muffin.

Hikaru smiled. "No, you aren't. I mean, you're definitely not anorexic."

Katie laughed. "I'd be scared if I was. I mean, me? Anorexic?"

He laughed with her, grinning when he realized something. _I've missed seeing her smile like this…_ "If you were anorexic, I'd be very, _very_ worried. There's no need for you to be anorexic, anyway. Your figure is perfect." He blushed when he said this, quickly looking away. "Not that I've observed your body or anything…"

Katie's eyebrows rose. "…Ooookay…" She blushed deeply. "You like my body…?"

Hikaru's face went even redder, and he was at a loss as to what he should say.

The two sat and stared at each other for a little while as they finished their muffins, the silence enveloping them. They didn't realize they were both reaching into the basket for another muffin until their hands made contact.

Katie blushed as she quickly tried to pull her hand back. "S-s-sorry…"

Hikaru grabbed her hand before she could pull it away. "Wait!" He blushed brightly. "I mean… don't be sorry…" He gave her a small smile.

Katie blushed but held his hand anyway. "O-okay… I'm not sorry…"

He smiled at her before getting up. "Hey, I… I want you to see something…"

Katie nodded and stood up, following Hikaru to wherever he was taking her. She frowned when she was led to another part of the roof. "Where are we—" She gasped when she saw a large botanical garden in front of them.

Hikaru smiled at her as he led her over to the fairly large garden. "This is Casanova's garden… he built it for the Host Club. It's were Haruhi grows any vegetable when she cooks for us at the club." He grinned. "It's also where we get some of our roses and other decorative flowers."

Katie looked around in wonder as they entered the garden.

The garden was grand, with vegetables on one side of the main path that ran down the middle of the rooftop garden and flowers growing on the other side. The vegetables hadn't grown much, with only the sprouts being apparent above the soil. The flowers, however, were a completely different story. Roses of red, white, pink, yellow and blue were all in full bloom, filling the garden with vibrant colours. Tulips and bluebells also grew in the garden, along with sunflowers and lilies, adding more colour to the already colourful area.

Katie walked over to the roses, leaning close to a red one and taking in its scent.

Hikaru smiled and followed her over, carefully picking a pink rose for her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Katie?"

Katie turned to look at him, and blushed when she saw the pink flower in is hand, her face turning the same shade as the rose. "Y-yes, Hikaru?"

He held out the rose, trying to avoid eye contact with her. "It… it's for you…"

She smiled softly as she reached out to take the rose from him, her hand wrapping around his gently.

He looked up at her in shock, his face flushing red again.

"Thank you," she whispered, her free hand coming up to caress his cheek softly. "It's beautiful."

"Just like you," he whispered in return, a small smile on his face. He wasn't going to hide it now – there was no point in doing it. _I'm not going to lie to her again._

Katie smiled as she felt him lean into her touch and let her thumb stroke his cheek softly as their blushes faded away.

The two of them stood there, gazing into each other's eyes with a new found realization…

And then they kissed.

* * *

***le gasp* Review!**


	13. Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 4

**Hey, readers! I kn****ow... it's been over a month. But I've been suffering from writer's block, and I've had exams... and I've had other stories on my mind as well. It's been tough. But I've got your next chapter here for you! I know you all loved the last one, hehe.**

**So updates will cut down to once a month instead of once a week, like my other stories. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you or anything...**

**Anyway... read on!**

* * *

Operation Get Katie and Hikaru Together part 4

_**And then they kissed.**_

_Woah…_

That was the only thing going through Katie's mind as she felt Hikaru press his lips to hers, his lips soft and welcoming. Her eyes slipped closed as the hand that caressed his cheek moved to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Hikaru relished in the kiss, his arms going to wrap around Katie's waist and pull her closer to him. His lips moved against hers gently as his fingers traced small patterns on her spine.

When the two finally pulled away from each other, their cheeks were flushed bright red, and they leaned their foreheads against each other's as they breathed heavily and their eyes stayed closed. Katie was still holding the pink rose in her arm, and their arms were still wrapped around each other.

Finally, Hikaru spoke:

"I love you," he whispered.

Katie's eyes opened suddenly, and she looked into his amber ones. He had a frightened look on his face, as if he wasn't sure it was the right thing to say. Then she grinned. "I love you too."

The smile that graced his face was the biggest smile she had ever seen, and he kissed her again.

* * *

"We did it! Oh my God we did it!"

Kaoru jumped awake as he heard Andrea yelling, and nearly fell off the chair he had fallen asleep on. "Wha…" he asked sleepily. His eyes widened. "What's going on?"

Andrea had a huge grin on her face. "We did it! We got them together!"

Kaoru frowned in confusion before his eyes widened in realization. "We… we did?"

She nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Come and look!"

Kaoru quickly got up and walked over to the screen where he could see Katie and Hikaru kissing, their arms wrapped around each other. His face broke out into a huge grin. "Is Kyoya getting this feed?" he asked.

"Straight to his laptop in the club room," Andrea replied. She pointed to the DVD rewriter that was not too far from the screen. "It's also going straight onto the DVD that's in the rewriter, so we can make copies of it later."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you planning to send copies of this to anyone?" he asked.

"My Biffles in England. Kara. Hikaru and Katie when I feel like annoying them."

Kaoru frowned. "Who is Kara?" he asked curiously.

"She's one of our buddies in the States."

"Oh, okay."

Andrea turned back to the screen, watching the couple again. "So… when do you think those two will find out that we videoed them?" she asked.

Kaoru shrugged and as he pulled his chair over so that he was sitting beside her. "They'll probably find out when Kyoya tells them, or tries to make a profit out of this video." He smirked. "We'll be in so much trouble when the do…"

"They'll thank us eventually." She was grinning hugely. "I'm certain of it."

"If you say so." He grinned at the screen. "They're getting a bit touchy-feely, don't you think?"

Andrea snorted. "That's love for you."

"Or sexual attraction."

"Yeah, that too."

* * *

Hikaru smiled as he pulled away from Katie, resting his forehead on hers and breathing heavily.

Katie smiled back. "I… I can't believe… I never thought…"

"That I loved you?" He smiled at her. "Well, I do." He took the rose in her hand and broke off three quarters of the stem, using the last little bit to help the rose stay in her hair as he put it in. He pushed some of her hair out of her face. "Because you're beautiful."

Katie blushed. "Th-thank you…" She pecked him on the cheek and smiled at his faint blush.

The bell rang.

Hikaru sighed. "Oh great… Languages…"

Katie smirked. "Languages aren't too bad…"

"I'm terrible at languages." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You know I suck at languages."

Katie smirked. "Je sais, je sais."

Hikaru just stared at her. "I have no clue what you just said."

She laughed. "I know. Is Andrea still tutoring you?"

He nodded. "It's taking a while, but I think I'm getting it now."

"That's good."

He took her hand and smiled. "Shall we head off to class, then?"

"Uh-huh." She smiled back at him.

He grinned and led her out of the garden, back onto the roof. When they got back, however, they frowned. The picnic stuff was gone…

Hikaru huffed. "So they were watching us?" he asked incredulously.

"Seems like it…" Katie bent down and picked up a note. "They're in languages now." She looked over at Hikaru. "We should head over now if we don't want to be late."

Hikaru nodded and pulled her over to the door. "Let's go, then."

* * *

"Did you revise?"

"Pssh, no."

"Why not?"

"I was tutoring your brother."

Kaoru frowned. "For the whole week?"

Andrea nodded. "Yep. He needed so much help…"

"Well, do you remember anything from last lesson?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Can we do some quick revision now before our teacher gets here?"

"Sure." Kaoru pulled out his French notebook. "D'accord, qu'est-ce que le nom de ton collège?"

Andrea thought about it. "Mon collège s'appelle Ouran Academy, mais quand j'étais onze ans j'allais au Mark Hall pour cinq ans. Mark Hall était où j'ai trouve mes meilleurs amis, par exemple, Katie Brigden et Rebecca Amey. Ma première meilleure amie, c'est Mukta, parce qu'on va l'école—" She stopped when she heard murmurs from around the room and frowned. "What's going on?"

Kaoru frowned and turned around, a smile forming on his face. "Look at who's arrived."

Andrea looked over at the door and grinned. "Awww."

Hikaru and Katie walked into the room holding hands, a pink rose tucked into Katie's hair. They had smiled on their faces, and light blushes tinted both their cheeks. Fangirls around the classroom squealed as they watched them walk over to Andrea and Kaoru.

"Hey, you two are talking again," Andrea pointed out with a smile.

Katie rolled her eyes at her. "No thanks to you."

"I set you two up!"

Kaoru cleared his throat.

"With Kaoru's help."

Kaoru grinned.

Hikaru smiled at the two of them. "Well, thank you for setting us up."

"You're welcome," Andrea and Kaoru answered at the same time. They grinned at each other before turning to the newly formed couple.

"So… how the French going, Hika?" Kaoru asked his brother. "Is it getting better?"

Hikaru sighed as he sat down at his desk, which was just beside Kaoru's. "Kind of… I'm still struggling…"

"You'll get it eventually, mon copain," Andrea said, leaning over and patting his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Hikaru stared at her before thinking deeply, his face scrunched up in concentration. "_Mon __copain_ means my friend, right?" he asked uncertainly.

Kaoru grinned at his brother. "I think he's finally getting it!" he said, speaking to Andrea and Katie.

Katie smiled as she sat in her seat in front of Kaoru. "That's great, Hika!"

Hikaru blushed lightly at the praise, and rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Thank you…"

Andrea scooted back to her seat behind the twins. "You're getting there, Hikaru." She smiled. "I'm sure we'll be able to get you to a C grade by the end of the academic year."

He huffed. "That's a bit ambitious…" he muttered.

"It could happen."

The bell signaling the start of afternoon classes rang, and everyone went back to their seats, facing the front of the class.

Hikaru sighed as the French teacher walked into the classroom. "This is going to be a long lesson…" he muttered.

* * *

By the end of the languages lesson, Hikaru was ready to kill both himself and the teacher. He got almost nothing that was said in that class, despite being tutored by Andrea earlier that week, and he was absolutely sure that he'd flopped that test.

"It wasn't that bad, Hikaru," Kaoru comforted as the pair headed to the library. The girls had already gone ahead of them and had agreed to meet them there.

"Kaoru, I definitely flopped that test… I understood _none_ of it!" Hikaru was trudging, his now ash-coloured hair hanging over his amber eyes.

"It was one test, Hikaru."

"And that one test decides whether I'll be in your classes or not next semester."

Kaoru sighed. "Hikaru, look at me."

Hikaru stopped and turned to his brother. "Yes, Kaoru?"

Kaoru placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, alright? You make it every time, Hikaru. And, if we have to, we'll take that extra tuition stuff that Tono offered."

Hikaru's eyes widened and he cringed before sighing. "F-fine…"

"Good. Now, smile, please."

Hikaru gave a small smile.

"That was pitiful."

"Shut up."

Kaoru grinned. "Why should I?"

Hikaru glared at him before huffing. "You're annoying."

"How was that annoying?"

"Because you won't shut up."

"If that makes me annoying, then you're way more annoying. You don't shut up either."

Hikaru glared at him again as they approached the library doors. "I do!"

"Then do it now."

He huffed. "Go away, Kaoru. You're being really annoying now."

Kaoru just grinned as they entered the library, pushing the large doors open. "Only to you, Hikaru." He looked around and saw Katie and Andrea sitting at a four-person table on the far side of the lower floor, their laptops out and library books piled high in the middle of the table. The twins walked over to them.

"Hey, girls," Hikaru greeted as he sat beside Katie. He peeked over at her laptop screen. "What are you doing?"

"The Physics homework," she stated as she continued to research and type.

He nodded and reached into his bag, pulling out his own laptop and turning it on to start on his homework.

Kaoru did the same, reaching for a book and opening it to start reading as his laptop booted up. His eyebrows creased into a frown. "This makes no sense to me…"

"That's why you don't do Physics," Andrea commented as she continued to type on her laptop. "You do Chemistry and Biology, but you dropped Physics earlier this year so that you could go on and concentrate on Art and Textiles more. Hikaru took Graphics instead, but kept the three sciences."

Kaoru's mouth dropped. "How…"

"I listen when you guys talk, you know."

"…Oh." Kaoru sighed as he pulled out his Biology homework. "Stupid research…" he muttered sourly. "I hate research. It's effort."

Andrea looked over at him. "Oh yeah… you're in our Biology class, aren't you?" She frowned. "We have to do all of that research?" she asked incredulously.

Kaoru nodded. "The whole lot."

"Well, there goes my weekend."

Hikaru sighed. "I'll leave that for later," he said. "I'm going to do my Physics first." He picked up one of the Physics books in the middle of the table and searched for information on radiation.

Katie finished her third page for her Physics essay before she looked over at her boyfriend. "What are you looking for?" she asked.

"Nuclear radiation," he said. He looked over at his laptop and opened up Google. He typed in what he was searching for before going back to the book.

Andrea's eyebrow rose when she saw him with the book. "So you'll read books, but only for homework?"

Hikaru looked up at her before rolling his eyes. "I can read, you know. I'm not stupid."

"Really?" she asked, going back to her typing.

"Will you shut up before you start up another stupid argument?" Kaoru sighed. "I'm trying to do my Biology homework, and I would like peace for it."

Hikaru huffed. "We were not—"

Katie put her hand over his mouth. "Shut up."

Hikaru blushed faintly. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Andrea smirked when she saw the interaction out of the corner of her eye. "I see you two are a lot more comfortable around each other."

Hikaru's blush deepened just as Katie's began to show.

"Did something happen on the roof?" Kaoru asked as he began his research.

Katie bit her lip. "Well… uh…"

"We kissed," Hikaru said bluntly.

Andrea stopped typing, acting surprised. "You kissed?"

Hikaru nodded.

Andrea turned to with wide eyes Katie before she started squealing girlishly. Katie did the same, and they began flapping their hands around weirdly.

Kaoru smirked at his blushing brother. "Well, it's about time, don't you think?"

Hikaru gave a small smile. "I guess it was."

Andrea quickly opened up Facebook on her laptop and opened up the group conversation. She typed, "AKDHFWOLAJDHFKA KATIE AND HIKARU ARE DATING" and sent it off, waiting for replies.

Katie's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's on Facebook already?"

"It is."

Katie groaned. "Please tell me it's on Biffles."

"It is."

"And is anyone online at the moment?"

"It seems as if they all are. We've already got some comments…" She grinned. "Awww… everyone's happy for you, Katie…"

Katie frowned and opened up Facebook on her laptop, frowning at the comments. "Why you little—"

"Aren't we meant to be doing homework?" Kaoru asked.

The girls both rolled their eyes at him. "The internet is far more interesting," they answered simultaneously.

Hikaru smirked. "Well, I can't wait to see you two fail this project."

"We won't," Katie told him. "We never do."

Andrea nodded in agreement. "We can multitask. You two can't."

"Therefore…" Katie started.

"We win," the girls answered, simultaneously again.

The twins just stared at them before frowning.

"Hey, who says—" Hikaru started.

"—we can't multitask?" Kaoru finished.

"Because we can," they argued.

"Then why aren't you doing your homework and talking at the same time?" Katie asked as she reached for another book to read from.

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak, but he had no answer.

"Owned," Andrea muttered, smirking at him.

* * *

When the final bell went, the group of friends had only managed to get half-way through their projects. They packed away their laptops and slung their bags over their shoulder before heading over to the counter to get their books out.

"Well, that was fun," Andrea muttered sarcastically.

"When I get home, I'm going to Skype and Tumblr until I fall asleep on my keyboard," Katie said, linking arms with Hikaru as the group headed out of the library.

He blushed before pulling her closer to him, wrapping his arm tentatively around her waist. "Yeah, well, I'm going to bath, Skype, and then sleep," he announced as they walked out of the school.

"Same," Kaoru agreed. "Screw homework."

Andrea chuckled. "Well, I see we all have such a positive view towards homework…" She walked beside Katie, stuffing her books and laptop into her bag as she did so.

Kaoru walked on the opposite side, instead walking beside Hikaru. "Yeah, well, we're obviously the most positive people in the world."

She laughed.

Katie smirked and looked up at Hikaru as they neared the gates. "Hey, Hikaru, you said you wanted to come over for dinner tonight?"

Said teenage boy frowned. "Huh?"

"Because I think my mum said she doesn't mind. Besides, I think she'll like you more because we're going out…"

His face went bright red at this statement, when he noticed her signaling over to the people on either side of them, he nodded. "Sure, but let's go… this way," he suggested, pulling them down a random path as they left the school. "See you later, guys!"

Andrea raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway. "See you two later!"

"Don't get home late!" Kaoru called out as he and Andrea walked towards her home.

"I won't!" Hikaru called back as he and Katie headed off.

* * *

The couple walked for a little while in a companionable silence before they reached the park where they had first shared the Jammy Dodgers. They grinned as they continued to walk, hand-in-hand, heading over to the bench that they had sat on.

"Remember this bench?" Katie asked.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah… this is the place where I first tasted the magnificent Jammy Dodgers. How could I forget it?"

"It's also the place where we first became friends."

Hikaru nodded, still holding Katie's hand. "This is one of my favourite places. This bench… I could sit here all day and be so content."

Katie nodded. "Same here."

The two sat there for a little while in silence before Hikaru turned to Katie.

"Hey, Katie…?"

Katie looked over at him. "Yes?"

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He frowned slightly. "Uh…"

Katie giggled. "I love it when you do that."

He blushed before leaning forward and kissing her softly on the lips. She kissed him back softly, her hand reaching up to caress his cheek. He leaned into her touch as they kissed, and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes before pulling away.

"I'm sorry," Hikaru told her. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I… I shouldn't have said those things to you…"

Katie smiled and put her finger to his lips. "It's alright, Hika. I forgive you."

Hikaru's lips curved up into a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The two sat in silence for a little while, just smiling at each other.

"You know, we haven't hung out with each other like 'friends' in ages," Katie said.

Hikaru nodded. "You're right…" He poked her shoulder. "Tag!" He jumped up and began to run off.

Katie pouted before jumping up and chasing after him. "Hey! Get back here!"

"Not a chance!"

* * *

Hikaru smiled as he walked into the mansion at around eight that evening, his school bag slung over his shoulder casually as he thanked the maids and headed straight upstairs to his room. Just as he neared his door, he turned and knocked on Kaoru's.

"Come in," Kaoru called out.

Hikaru pushed the door open. "Hey, I'm back."

Kaoru smiled as he looked up from his biology homework. ""Hey, took you long enough." He wrinkled his nose slightly. "You're all sweaty…"

Hikaru chuckled. "Yeah, Katie and I played a couple of games on the way back to her place…"

"Did you walk from her place?"

"Uh-huh. It's healthier."

The younger twin's eyes widened. _He never thinks of trying to be healthy…_ "Well, good for you."

Hikaru laughed. "No need to look so surprised." He smiled at Kaoru. "I'll go and shower now. See you later, Kao!" He turned to leave the room before turning back not long after. "Hey, Kao?"

"Hmmm?" Kaoru looked up from his homework. "Yeah, Hika?"

Hikaru paused, wondering whether to say it. "…Actually… never mind. Yeah, it's nothing."

Kaoru frowned slightly. "…Alright then…"

"See ya, Kao!" Hikaru turned and left the room, heading to his room to shower.

Kaoru shook his head before going back to his homework.

_Hika, you are such an idiot sometimes._

* * *

**Review, guys!**


	14. To Boston We Go!

**Hello, my dear readers! It's been a long, _long_ time! I didn't mean for it to be this long, but I've had quite a bit of writer's block, plus studies, which means that I haven't been writing my stories for quite a while - over a month! But here I am - back with a new chapter for _this_ area of Katie and Hikaru's relationship! (I keep forgetting that they're still meant to be teenagers, and not married adults with four kids... oops... I think I've said too much XD)**

**Anyway, enjoy the episode!**

* * *

To Boston We Go!

_Hikaru and Kaoru sighed as they walked into the Host Club Room, the Third Music Room, their satchels slung over their shoulders. They hadn't really wanted to get there this early – Hikaru had been planning to meet Katie at their lockers for some 'private time' – but Tamaki had something really important to tell them._

_So here they were._

_Hikaru smiled when he saw Katie already there with Andrea. "Hey, girls!"_

_Katie looked over and smiled. "Hey, Hika. So you got called here too?"_

"_Actually, the whole Host Club was called. As were our guests."_

_It was only then that the twins noticed all of their usual guests hanging around them, chatting idly amongst themselves._

_The four of them turned to see Tamaki walk into the room, Haruhi beside him. "I see you have all arrived, then?"_

_Hunny and Mori emerged from the changing rooms just as Kyoya walked into the room._

_Haruhi bit her lip. "I guess we should tell them, then, huh?"_

_Kaoru frowned. "Tell us what?"_

_Haruhi took a deep breath. "I'm… studying abroad."_

"_You're studying abroad?!"_

"_To Boston. For a year."_

"_To Boston for one year?!"_

_They twin boys flipped._

"_Are you stupid? Boston is basically the countryside!" Hikaru exclaimed._

"_That's not true…" Andrea muttered. "Boston is a city…"_

"_Actually," Haruhi said, "I've heard that the school in that city is perfect for studying abroad."_

"_You should've gone to an exciting city!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Like Las Vegas or Beverly Hills!"_

_Haruhi frowned at them. "I'm going to study there," she pointed out, "so it doesn't need to be exciting…"_

"_That's not what we mean!" the twins exclaimed. "It's just that studying abroad is something that can be done after high school! Why should you do it now?!"_

"_Actually, this is something I've been bothered by as well, and my father also offered to pay my expenses to go, but," she turned towards the window in thought, "now it would be completely free, so…" She sighed. "I don't know when I'll be able to get another special chance like this…"_

_The twins frowned. "You're going to study abroad with that housewife attitude?" They turned to Tamaki. "Come on Tono, you stop her too! After all, you just became a couple, and you are fine with her going?!"_

"_Shhh! Hika-chan, Kao-chan!" Hunny urged._

_The twins covered their mouths, slowly turning to look at the fangirls who were staring at them with something akin to wonder and intrigue. They were muttering amongst themselves excitedly._

"_I'm supporting this, actually."_

_The boys looked over at Tamaki, who had just spoken._

"_It something that Haruhi decided after being troubled a lot," he explained. The 'King' was receiving the attention of the whole of the club now._

_The twins growled. "You're making the face of someone who is incredibly understanding again!" they exclaimed. "Do you think that is enough to make us agree?"_

_Tamaki turned to the clock when he heard it chime. "Oh no… is that the time already?" He turned back to the club. "Oh, and by the way, I'm putting in a lot of effort in training for the job at the Suoh Company, but I will try to show myself from time to time in the club!"_

_The twins were shocked. "Wha… what do you mean? Wait, Kyoya-senpai, Kyoya-senpai!" They held onto Tamaki tightly. "We're not letting you get away!" They looked over at Kyoya. "Do you get it? This bas—"_

_But Kyoya was already in 'Business mode'. "The Host Club will surely hold a goodbye party for Haruhi," he told the guests. "We're also planning to have a Special Edition Photobook, special goods and more."_

_The fangirls squealed. "Kyaa! I'll definitely buy it!"_

_The twins growled. "That penny pincher!"_

"_Please let me go!" Tamaki wailed._

"_We'll go straight away to tell everyone!" the girls cried as they ran out of the Host Club doors._

_Haruhi stared at them in shock, as did Katie and Andrea._

"_It's hard to believe I was once like them…" Katie muttered._

"_No it isn't," Andrea replied._

"_Haruhi, when are you leaving?" Kyoya asked._

"_Ah, yes," Haruhi said. "The school there starts in September, but I'd like to get used to my life there a little before that time, so I was thinking of going right after the closing ceremony of the first term."_

"_I see," Kyoya replied. "There is also the exam for the end of the first term, so we will be busy. How about we have your goodbye party the evening of the day of the closing ceremony?"_

_The twins were gobsmacked. "Wai… wait, everything is happening so quickly…"_

_Haruhi felt terrible. "Hikaru… Kaoru… I'm sorry if I decided this all by myself, but I would like you to understand, if possible, that I'm also really sad to part from all of you. But it's thanks to you that I could make this decision."_

_The twins were on the verge of crying. "Haru…"_

"_Thanks to all of you, my world expanded so much," she said, looking at each of the members in turn – including Andrea and Katie. "That's why now I feel the need to see more and more things."_

_Hunny stared at Haruhi. "Haru-chan…"_

_Mori watched Haruhi._

_The twins nodded solemnly, and Kaoru brushed a tear from his face. "Ok… got it."_

_Haruhi turned. "Then, Tamaki-senpai, Kyoya-senpai, I have something to ask you."_

_The two seniors turned to look at her._

"_If my horizon was expanded, it was not only because I met all of you, but also thanks to everybody in my class and our guests at the Host Club," she explained. "For this reason, I don't want to leave keeping my secret… would it be possible for me to reveal everything to everyone?"_

_The club members stared at her in shock. _Was she saying that they thought she was saying?

* * *

Katie sighed as she finished off her Literature homework. _And I thought English Literature was hard… this is just insane!_ She quickly piled all of her papers together and grabbed her stapler.

There was a knock on her door. "Hey, Katie!"

Katie quickly stapled her work together. "The door's open, Becky!"

Becky walked into her sister's room, pushing her bright red hair back from her face. "Have you got your dress back, yet?"

Katie shook her head. "No, not yet. Hikaru's mum is still making some adjustments on it."

"Isn't the Masquerade Ball tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, and Hikaru promised to get me the dress by tomorrow morning."

"Oh."

Katie smiled dreamily as she put her Literature homework into her bag. "I can't wait to see the dress…"

"Am I allowed to go?" Becky asked.

"Are you in Ouran High School yet?" Katie retorted.

"No."

"Well, there you go."

Becky huffed before turning to leave. "Annoying bitch."

Katie stared at her as she walked out. "Rude!" she yelled as the door slammed shut behind Becky. She sighed and turned back to her desk, getting out her planner and looking for what homework she had left.

**LANGUAGES.**

She sighed. "Another essay? Yippee…"

* * *

"Boys! I'm home!"

Huge grins spread across the twins' faces, and hey burst out of their rooms to see their mother standing not too far from the staircase. They ran into her wide arms, grinning.

"Mom! You're-"

"—home! We can't-"

"—believe it!" the twins finished together, smiling at their mother.

Yuzuha smiled at her two sons. "Yes! And guess what I brought?"

Their smiles turned into huge grins. "Presents!"

She nodded with a chuckle and pulled out three bags. She handed one to each of the boys and kept hold of the third. "From New York."

The boys eagerly opened their bags and smiled when they found the souvenirs and clothes that they had received. "Thanks, mom!"

Yuzuha handed Hikaru the third bag. "And this is for Katie." She slapped his hand when she caught him trying to peek inside. "No peeking!"

Hikaru blushed lightly, causing his brother, Kaoru, to laugh.

Yuzuha smiled. "Okay, okay, now how about you two help me with some new designs?"

Kaoru frowned. "Well-"

"Of course, mom!" Hikaru cut him off. "That would be great!"

Kaoru frowned at his brother. "But Hikaru… we have essays to complete…"

"We can always do them later."

Yuzuha rose at eyebrow at them. "Well, if you have homework…" She turned and began to walk off. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Hikaru turned and glared at his brother as their mother walked off.

Kaoru stared back at Hikaru innocently. "What?"

"You're an idiot, Kaoru. An absolute idiot."

* * *

Katie smiled as she walked into Class 2-A. Today was the day of the Masquerade Ball, or Goodbye Party, that the Host Club had arranged, and she was actually really excited about it. This was the first dance that she was attending with her new boyfriend… She grinned. It sounded so good. _Boyfriend…_

Andrea looked up as she spotted Katie walking over and noticed she was in a dreamland. "Hey, ginge."

Katie blinked a couple of times before smiling at Andrea. "Hey." She put her stuff at her desk before walking over. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Andrea smirked. "And you must be well if you're in a dreamland."

Katie grinned. "I'm excited for tonight… I get to dance with Hika!"

"Awww… I'm sure all of the Fangirls are just as excited about it as you are."

"They can't be. It's impossible."

The girls laughed as the twins walked over to them from where they had been harassing their Class President. Hikaru was holding a bag.

"Hello, ladies," Kaoru greeted, sitting on Andrea's desk. "How are you today?"

"Good, thanks," Andrea said. "Although I'd be even better if you didn't sit on my desk."

Kaoru pouted and stood up. "Meanie."

Hikaru chuckled at their interaction and wrapped his arms around Katie's waist, kissing her softly. "Hey."

She smiled at him as he pulled away. "Hey. Did you enjoy your dinner at Haruhi's last night?" she asked.

He nodded. "It was delicious! But enough about that – how are you today?"

"Great. How about you?"

"Better now that I'm with you, that's for sure."

She blushed lightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Stop being so mushy, Hika."

He just grinned. "I just feel like being mushy today."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything, but…" He pulled out the bag that his mother had given him, "…I have the dress…"

Katie's face broke out into a grin and she squealed and took the bag. "Yayayay! Andrea look, look, look!"

Andrea looked over and grinned. "Yay! We're getting my dress after school, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good."

Kaoru smiled. "Can we come with you?"

"No," the girls said.

"It's strictly a girls' day," Andrea explained. "No boys allowed."

"We'll get Andrea's dress, and then we'll get our makeup and hair done before getting our dresses on," Katie explained. "We'll meet you two here tonight."

Hikaru pouted. "I want to see the dress…"

"You can see it tonight."

The bell rang signalling the start of morning classes. Hikaru and Kaoru moved to their seats, and Hikaru gave Katie one last kiss before sitting down.

Katie smiled and blushed, ignoring the looks she got from all of the other girls.

She was glad she had Hikaru as her boyfriend.

* * *

"So should I wear this one?"

"It's a _ball_, Andrea. Not prom."

"So I have to wear something big and puffy?"

"Yes."

Andrea sighed as she went back through the dresses, looking for something suitable to wear. "This is a lot harder than looking for something to wear to Prom…"

Katie shrugged. "Oh well. Just find something."

"But it has to be perfect."

"Why, do you want a special _somebody_ to notice your outfit?"

There was silence.

Katie smirked. "You have a crush on Kaoru, don't you?"

"Pfft, no!"

Katie smiled softly. "Don't worry, they're not here. They're setting up for tonight with the rest of the club."

"Well… maybe a little…"

Katie grinned. "I knew it!"

"Okay, okay, you know now." The 12 day younger teen emerged from the changing rooms. "What do you think of this?"

Katie smiled. "Perfect! Let's pay for this one!"

Andrea smiled. "Yay!"

* * *

"_Ladies and Gentlemen..._

"_Thank you for coming here to celebrate this party for our scholarship student who is going abroad…_

"_It's called a goodbye party, but…_

"_Our club's motto is to always provide entertainment for our guests…_

"_Therefore…_

"_The theme this time is…_

"_A MASQUERADE PARTY HOST CLUB STYLE!_"

Katie smiled as she watched her boyfriend and his younger twin mess around with Haruhi, as usual. The fact that Haruhi was leaving didn't seem to bother them on the outside, but it was obvious that this was really affecting them on the inside. She carefully slipped on her green mask and opened her green fan single-handedly, holding it so that it hid everything below her eyes.

"Ginge?"

Katie turned to see Andrea doing the same with her mask and red fan. "Hmmm?"

"Aren't you going to go and ask him to dance with you?" she asked, fluttering her fan a little.

Katie blushed lightly. "He should come over when he's ready…"

"Haruhi's gone onto the dance floor, though."

Katie looked over and noticed that that had in fact happened. She took a deep breath. "Okay, okay… but can we go over together and see if they recognise us?"

Andrea huffed. "They'll recognise me immediately."

"I think they mistook you for Mei last time…"

"That was an _insult_."

"Just come with me…"

The two girls headed over to where the twins stood, seemingly talking. Katie cleared her throat once they'd arrived there.

Hikaru turned to see who had cleared their throat and smiled. "Why, hello there…"

Kaoru smiled identically. "My, don't our guests look lovely, Hikaru?"

"Of course they do. They're our guests."

The girls shared a glace before giggling. They slowly lowered their fans, smirking.

Hikaru stared at Katie in shock before taking in her whole appearance. She wore a deep green evening dress that flowed down to her ankles, hugging her figure so that it only just showed her curves. Her curly red hair had been curled even further and tied up into a bun, with her fringe being left down to hang by her face. She held and matching green fan, and wore a shimmering green mask to cover her eyes with some lip gloss and a touch of foundation and blusher, although the mask hadn't managed to hide her glittering green eye-shadow. Her shoes were open-toed and also green.

"Wow…" he managed to whisper.

Kaoru, on the other hand, was analysing Andrea's outfit. She wore a shimmering red dress that hugged her curves all the way down to her hips, where it splayed out until it reached her ankles. Her usually afro hair had been straightened, unlike Katie's, and was left to hang down until it reached half-way down her back. She wore a shimmering silver mask, and was wearing red eye-shadow with a touch of lip gloss. She wore heeled silver sandals on her feet, and had a red fan in her hands.

"Liking the outfit," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," Andrea replied, smiling back.

Katie smiled softly at Hikaru. "What, cat got your tongue?"

Hikaru blushed. The dress was amazing… "You look beautiful…"

It was Katie's turn to blush. "Thank you…"

He smiled before clearing his throat and bowing slightly. "May I have this dance, fair lady?" he asked.

Katie smiled and curtseyed. "Why of course, kind sir."

Hikaru smiled and held out his hand, which Katie took gratefully, smiling the whole time. The younger slowly pulled his girlfriend onto the dance floor, and before long they were waltzing around the dance floor, entertaining the guests.

Andrea smiled as she watched Katie and Hikaru waltz together.

"They're a cute couple, aren't they?"

She turned to see Kaoru standing beside her, his mask atop his head as he smiled towards the waltzing couple. He turned and smiled at her.

Andrea smiled back. "They are…" she replied, fiddling a little with her mask.

Kaoru watched as she fiddled with her mask. He didn't even realise he was staring at her until he realised she was talking to him. He frowned at her. "Huh?"

"I said, 'Do you want anything?'" she repeated.

"Oh…" He shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."

"Okay." She smiled at him and held her mask up to her face. "Do you like it?" she asked him.

Kaoru chuckled at her childishness. "I love it. Did you make it yourself?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. It matches my dress – see?" She grinned.

Kaoru chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I see." He pointed to his own mask. "Mine's my favourite colour."

"Orange?"

"Mhmm."

Andrea smiled. "Mine's my favourite colour too!"

He grinned. "You like red?"

"I love it!"

"It _is_ a beautiful colour…"

"Mhmm."

The two stood in silence for a little while, watching everyone else dance and talk in the middle of the room, before Kaoru cleared his throat. Andrea looked over at him.

"You know… this _is_ a Masquerade ball…" he started.

She frowned. "Yeah, so?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "And at Balls, you're meant to dance…"

"What are you trying to get at, Kaoru?"

He took a deep breath. "Would you like to dance with me?"

She blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah… as friends, I mean!" he amended quickly.

Andrea bit her lip. "I don't waltz," she told him.

"Then I can teach you."

She raised her eyebrow. "I said I _don't_, not I _can't_."

He smiled at her. "Well, then, let's waltz together. It'll be fun!"

Andrea bit her lip. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on!"

"Well…"

He grinned and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto the dance floor and ignoring her protests. He turned to her. "You say you can waltz, so let's waltz."

She huffed, giving in to defeat. "Fine. Let's dance." She stood up straight. "Show me."

* * *

Hikaru smiled as he twirled Katie around, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist as they danced together.

Katie giggled as she was spun around. She'd never really danced with a boy before… but she loved it. And she loved him. Then, as they began to slow down, something caught her eye. "Hey…"

Hikaru frowned. "What? What's wrong? Is it something I did?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, of course it's not you! It's… them."

He turned to look at what she was looking at and smirked. His younger brother, Kaoru, was attempting to teach Andrea how to waltz, and it didn't seem to be going to well. Well, from the teaching side anyway. But that didn't seem to bother the younger twin much, as the pair of them seemed to be laughing.

Hikaru smiled. "That's cute."

Katie nodded, smiling. "Yeah…"

He looked back over at his girlfriend. "Do you think they'll get together?" he asked her.

She paused, thinking about it. _Would they? Well, Andrea did have a crush on Kaoru… but was it the same vice versa?_ "Maybe…"

Hikaru turned his head and looked back over at where Kaoru and Andrea were still trying to dance. "It would be cool if they did."

Katie snorted. "Don't you mean 'sweet'?"

"I'm a guy. We don't mention the word 'sweet' unless we're speaking about confectionary."

She laughed. "Alright, alright." She pecked him softly on the lips. "I love you."

He smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you too. More than you could ever know…"

Just then, the song ended, and the couple pulled away from each other.

"I need to use the bathroom," Katie explained as she watched Andrea walk off. "I'll be right back."

Hikaru nodded and watched his girlfriend head off to the bathroom before going to stand at the edge of the dance floor with his brother, who was also standing alone. He smiled when he realised the younger twin was watching Haruhi dancing, and it wasn't long before Hunny joined them.

"_Waaah! Haru-chan is good, really good!" Hunny exclaimed._

"_Well, she's almost doing a good job… at hiding her awful sense of rhythm," Hikaru pointed out._

"_Hikaru, Kaoru!" Kyoya called out._

_The twins turned to face him immediately."Yes! It's time?"_

_Kyoya nodded, and the pair turned and raced out of the room._

* * *

Katie opened the door to the ladies' bathroom and walked in, sighing when she heard the babble of many girls doing their makeup around the mirrors. She'd been hoping that it was quiet in here so that she could talk to her bestie. Or at least find her.

The redhead walked around the ladies' room, looking for the dark-skinned girl. She finally found her standing in the corner of the room, leaning against the large floor-length mirror, and walked over to her. "Hey."

Andrea looked up when she heard someone talking to her and smiled when she saw Katie walking over. "Hey, ginge. What's up?"

Katie grinned. "I had, like, my first ever dance with Hikaru." She sighed happily. "It was amazing!"

Andrea smiled. "That's nice."

"I saw you dancing with Kaoru."

She looked away shyly.

Katie grinned. "You really liked dancing with him, didn't you?"

Andrea didn't answer.

Katie sighed. "You know, it's highly possible that he likes you back."

Andrea snorted. "Now you're just messing with me."

"I'm serious. How could anyone not love a smart, sporty, funny, happy girl like you?"

Andrea smiled. "Awwww, you're such a suck-up…"

"I'm not trying to suck up to you. I'm being honest."

Andrea still looked doubtful.

Katie sighed.

There was a knock on the ladies' room door, and Kaoru and Hikaru popped their heads in. "Hello, ladies."

The girls screamed.

The twins locked eyes with the girls and beckoned them over. "We kinda need you now!"

The girls frowned before walking over to the twins. "What's going on?" they asked.

"It's time for the revelation…"

* * *

_PATAN!_

"_Oh! Haruhi! Ah, she's here, she's here!" the twins exclaimed._

_Haruhi was confused as Mori pushed her into a chair. "Wha… wha…?"_

"_Ahaha," Hunny giggled. "Ah, all of this rushing is so nostalgic!"_

"_Come on, sit down, I'll put light makeup on you!" Hikaru told her. "When I'm finished, you'll change your clothes right away!"_

_Haruhi was astonished. "Wait… you don't mean…"_

"_Well, __**we**__ also that this was a bit reckless," the twins added, "But Tono and Kyoya-senpai…"_

"_Haruhi."_

_Haruhi turned to see Kyoya at the door._

"_I'm not someone who bets on a situation when I can't predict victory or defeat," he explained, "but I think that, for this time, I will do it and agree with Tamaki's opinion."_

* * *

Katie sighed as she finished helping Hikaru with Haruhi's makeup. "Is it alright, Hika?"

Hikaru nodded as he began to put away the makeup. "It looks perfect, Katie."

Haruhi slowly opened her eyes. "Can I see?"

Katie passed her a mirror, and she gasped.

"You're amazing…"

Katie blushed. "Thank you…"

"And now for the dress!" Kaoru grinned as he walked over with the outfit, whilst Andrea carried the matching jewellery as well as the shoes and the wig.

Haruhi bit her lip. "I'm still not sure about this…"

"Well, it's too late to turn back now," Hikaru pointed out.

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "We had to get this dress designed just for you!"

"Yeah!"

Haruhi sighed. "Alright, alright." She stood up. "I'm ready to wear the dress."

The twins grinned before Katie took the dress off Kaoru.

"We'll help her with the dress," she told them, glaring at Hikaru. "Out."

The twins pouted. "Fine." They turned and walked out. "Boring girls."

* * *

"_Everyone, please put on the mask you have in your hands. From now, with the light a little lower, it will be quite hard for you to recognise everyone around you. Among these people I would like you to find someone… someone that will be away from Ouran for some time._

"_The real form of Haruhi Fujiyoka!_

"_The title of this game will be…_

"_**Let's look for Haruhi!**__"_

_The rest of the Host Club stood around Haruhi, smiling at her._

"_Haru-chan you're so cute!" Hunny exclaimed. "Do your best!"_

_Mori just nodded as he stood behind Hunny. "Haruhi…"_

"_Haruhi…"_

"_Haruhi!"_

_She put her mask on, walking towards the main room. She smiled at Andrea and Katie as she walked in, and the two pushed her._

"_Go!" they exclaimed, urging her forward._

_Haruhi raced down the corridor, heading towards the ballroom, and pushed the doors open…_

* * *

Katie smiled as she watched Haruhi and Tamaki waltz. The two actually looked really sweet together…

"It's a shame we have to see them go."

She turned to see Kaoru standing beside her, a small smile on his face as his orange bangs hung over his eyes. She watched as he quickly pushed his bangs out of his eyes, and she smiled. _Hikaru does that a lot as well…_

"Are you alright?" he asked her, a confused look on his face.

She smiled. "You just seem to have a lot of similar attributes to your brother, that's all."

He smiled. "Well, we _are_ twins…"

"That's true."

The two stood there in silence.

"Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked over at Katie. "Hmm? Yes?"

Katie bit her lip. "Would you… ever consider having a girlfriend?"

Kaoru frowned. "I thought you were dating Hikaru?"

She glared at him. "Not me, you idiot!" She slapped him lightly upside the head. "I meant any girl at all."

He winced. "Oh…" He shrugged. "I don't know… it depends on which girl."

"Why, have you got your eye on one girl in particular?"

He blushed. "Maybe… I don't know…" He sighed. "Anyway, did you know that Tamaki's leaving to go to Boston as well?"

Katie's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Mhmm. He's just got to tell Haruhi now…" He watched as Haruhi left the room, and Tamaki followed about five minutes later. "Yup, he's gonna tell her."

"She's going to be mad…" Katie sang.

"Of course she's gonna be mad," Hikaru muttered as he walked up behind Katie and wrapped his arms around her. "It's Haruhi."

"That doesn't prove anything," Andrea pointed out as she stood beside Kaoru.

Suddenly, a scream – more like a yell – came from the balcony.

Hikaru grinned. "Finally Haruhi realised it too."

Kaoru chuckled. "Yeah… it's kind of incredible."

"And when he said '_But I thought everyone knew already_'."

"'_I'm definitely not letting Haruhi go alone_'." Kaoru huffed. "How were we supposed to know?"

"The reason why Tama-chan was so busy was because his grandmother said she would agree with his study abroad project only if he was able to comply with the schedule she had decided." Hunny sweat dropped. "If Kyo-chan hadn't informed us yesterday we wouldn't have realised it either."

"Ahh," Mori muttered.

Kyoya shrugged. "Well, I can see him planning something like that."

"And… for that reason, we were all in a hurry and emergency mode," the twins finished explaining.

"That's right!" Hunny agreed.

Katie bit her lip. "Haruhi is going to be really mad…"

Hikaru nodded. "Mhmm."

Hunny sighed. "It was hard… so hard…"

Andrea sighed and leaned on Kaoru, not noticing how he tensed slightly. "It'll be worth it in the end, though."

Kaoru nodded, a little stiffly. "Mhmm. It will."

Hikaru was the only one to notice Kaoru's stiffness, and he smirked. "I bet it will."

Kaoru glared at him. _Quit it._

Hikaru just grinned. _Payback. For all those months of torture, little brother._

Kaoru huffed and looked away.

Andrea looked up at Kaoru. "You alright?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He cleared his throat a little. "So…"

"Have you told them yet, Hika-chan?" Hunny asked.

Hikaru tensed slightly, and Katie frowned.

"Told us what, Hikaru?"

Hikaru bit his lip before moving away from Katie and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Well, we… the _Host Club_… we decided to…" He bit his lip nervously.

Katie frowned. "You decided to what?"

Kaoru saw how reluctant Hikaru was and quickly butted in. "We've decided to go to Boston with Haruhi and Tamaki."

Katie frowned, confused. "What?"

Hikaru took another deep breath. "We're going to Boston. For a year. We… the Host Club… we're studying abroad."

"Oh, okay," Katie said, smiling. "It sounds fun, doesn't it Andrea?"

Andrea frowned slightly. Hikaru still looked tense, and Kaoru seemed to be tense as well. "What's going on?"

Kaoru bit his lip. "We… we're not taking you two."

Andrea froze. "What?"

"We're not taking you two. We can't… we're not allowed to…"

Katie tensed, tears welling up in her eyes. "What?"

"So you're going to Boston… without us?" Andrea asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

Katie was slowly walking away from the group.

Hikaru bit his lip, reaching out for Katie. "Katie, please…"

"When were you planning on telling me this?" she demanded suddenly, glaring at him.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "I… I-I… Katie…"

"Were you ever planning on telling me this?" she asked further.

He bit his lip, avoiding her eyes. "I… I didn't know how to…"

She span and ran off quickly, rubbing at her eyes furiously.

Andrea's eyes widened and she turned to follow her. "Katie, wait!"

Hikaru grabbed her arm. "No… don't…"

Andrea turned and glared at him. "She's been my friend for longer. I know her better. And I know that it's going to take more than 'sorry' to get her to forgive you for something like this." She pulled her arm forcefully out of his grip before running after Katie.

Hikaru sighed heavily before falling to his knees, sobbing a little.

Kaoru knelt beside him, putting an arm around his brother's shoulder. "Hikaru…?"

"I'm an idiot. An absolute idiot," Hikaru muttered before sobbing into his brother's shoulder.

* * *

Katie sighed as she sat curled up on her bed, listening to some J-Pop on her I-Pod. The music she was listening to was depressing, mainly to match her upset mood.

_He hadn't even considered telling me… he was just going to up and leave me…_

She sniffed a little, wiping a tear from her face as she doodled in her sketch book. "Stupid baka idiot of a boyfriend," she muttered, mixing her Japanese with her English. After a few attempts of trying to draw something, she finally gave up, throwing her stuff at the wall before burying her face in her pillow. "Life sucks!" she screamed into the pillow.

Becky walked into the room. "Katie?"

"Go away."

Becky frowned. "Katie…"

"I said go away!"

The younger sibling huffed before leaving the room.

Katie sobbed into the pillow, her body shaking.

After about five minutes, there was a knock on the door, and her mum walked in. "Katie…"

Katie looked up to see her mum at the door, her face covered with tears.

Chantal walked over to the bed, pulling her daughter into an embrace. "Oh, honey…"

Katie sobbed into her mum's shoulder. "He… he was going to leave me…"

"Shhh…"

Katie bit her lip.

Chantal kissed her forehead, rocking her slowly. "Hey, it's alright. You're alright."

Katie nodded, although she wasn't entirely convinced. "O-okay…" She looked up at the clock. _He'll be at the airport now… probably boarding his plane…_

Chantal followed her line of sight. "Maybe you should have gone to see him off…"

"No." Katie closed her eyes. "Maybe I'm glad that he's gone."

"You don't mean that."

"I do."

"Katie, you and I both know you don't."

Katie moved away from her mum and curled back up on her bed.

Chantal was just about to speak when the door opened and Becky walked in.

"Katie, there's someone at the door for you," Becky announced.

"Tell them to go away."

"But it's really important."

"I said, tell them to—"

"Just go and answer the door!" Becky snapped.

Katie huffed and sat up. "Fine." She got up and headed downstairs, her I-Pod still plugged in and playing random songs. She reached the bottom of the stairs and froze when she noticed who was standing at the door.

_Hikaru…_

His dark hair was dishevelled, and his chest was heaving slightly, as if he had just been running. His red face confirmed that suspicion.

"Katie…"

Katie bit her lip. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you were on your way to Boston?"

Hikaru looked down, feeling guilty. "Katie, I… I wanted to talk to you…"

She just sighed before turning to walk towards the kitchen, her arms folded.

"No, wait!" Hikaru ran inside and grabbed her arm.

She stopped. "What?" she asked.

"I…" He froze, at a loss for words.

She pulled out of his grip and continued to head to the kitchen.

Hikaru closed his eyes, nearing his breaking point. He was only just about able to hold his feelings in, and he could feel his chest starting to constrict. If Katie pushed him any further… "I'm sorry," he finally managed to choke out.

Katie stopped. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I know, it's not exactly what you wanted to hear, but—" He was cut off when she turned and hugged him tightly, her face buried in his shirt. "K-Katie?"

She sobbed into his shirt. "I-I-I don't want you to go!"

He hugged her tightly. "I… I know, Katie…" He bit his lip and took a shaky breath as he buried his face in her hair. "I… I'm so sorry… for even thinking about leaving you…"

She continued to sob into his shirt until she calmed down a little, before pulling her head back and looking up into his eyes.

His eyes were red and puffy, also from crying, and he had tear stains running down his cheeks. He gave her a watery smile.

She smiled back. "I love you, Hikaru."

Hikaru kissed her forehead. "And I love you… so much…"

Katie smiled and leaned her head on his chest.

He hugged her tightly.

The two stood there for a little while before Hikaru spoke.

"Katie…"

Katie looked up at him. "Hmmm?"

He bit his lip before smiling. "I… I'm going to need you to pack your bags."

She frowned. "What? Why?"

He gave her a huge grin. "How would you feel about going with me to Karuizawa?"

* * *

**Review, guys!**


	15. To Karuizawa We Go! - Part 1

**Hey, guys! Look at what I finally updated (hehe :D)! It's been ages, I know. Nearly three months, I think! But now I've got your next episode up for you! I've finally finished my exams, so I'll probably be spending more time writing. Don't hold me to that though - I'm not exactly sure what I have planned for this summer. I'm hoping that I can get this season done by the end of the summer, but I've lined up so many other stories and sequels that I'm thinking it won't be dome until the end of the year. Either way, I aim for this to be done by the end of 2013.**

**Just thought I'd let you all know. Also, my updates are probably going to be faster.**

**Anyway, sorry for the long monologue. I hope you enjoy this episode!**

* * *

To Karuizawa We Go! – part 1

Katie smiled as she leaned on Hikaru, feeling quite tired.

The trip to Karuizawa was long, and since the four of them – Andrea and Kaoru were coming along as well – had decided to travel by limo, they had all decided to take a nap on the way there.

Andrea and Kaoru both lay on the seat opposite Katie, each of them leaning against the window as they slept. Hikaru lay right beside her. His dark hair hang over his face, which was peaceful, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders protectively.

Katie was currently resting on Hikaru, who was asleep with his head on a makeshift pillow on the seat. Her head was on his chest, and she was wide awake, listening to his calm heartbeat and the steady rise and fall of his chest.

The poor guy was exhausted.

Eventually, Katie managed to be lulled to sleep by Hikaru's breathing, but it didn't last too long. About ten minutes later, she was shaken awake.

"Katie…"

Katie's eyes fluttered open to see a pair of amber ones looking directly into hers, dark hair tickling her forehead and nose.

She smiled up at him softly. "Hi."

Hikaru smiled softly in return. "Hey." He reached down and caressed her cheek. "We're in Karuizawa now…"

She nodded as she leaned into his touch. "Okay…" Her eyes began to flutter closed again.

He chuckled as he pulled his hand away from her cheek. "Aren't you going to get out?" he asked her curiously.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Can you carry me?" she asked him innocently.

He blinked at her before he grinned and nodded. "Sure!" He slowly slid off her before carefully picking her up, putting her arms beneath her shoulders and under her knees, and getting her out of the car.

Katie smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him carry her out of the limo and into the place where they were staying.

Hikaru grinned as he carried Katie from the limo to the pension – Misuzu's pension. He walked with her in his arms down the front path all the way up to the pension porch, where he carefully placed her on her feet.

Katie smiled as he stood her on the ground, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. "Thank you," she told him quietly, smiling at him softly.

He kissed her cheek. "You're very welcome."

Katie was just about to lean up to kiss him when the front door to the pension opened.

"Oh, and the other one is here too!"

Hikaru cried out as he was grabbed and pulled inside the pension by none other than Mei. "Hey!"

Mei grinned. "Dad! I've found the other twin!"

Hikaru blinked. "What?"

Misuzu floated out of the kitchen in his dress and apron, grinning. "Oh, it's another of Haruhi's darling friends! Welcome back, sweetheart!" He grabbed Hikaru and hugged him tightly.

Mei was smiling hugely. "You'll be staying for the holidays, won't you?"

"Uh… yeah…" Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck. "But—"

"Good! I have some designs I want you to look at!"

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Misuzu clapped. "And I have some jobs for you as well! I'm sure you and your brother can complete them fantastically!"

Hikaru sighed. "Look, guys, I…"

"Gosh, to have you look over all of my designs!" Mei breathed happily.

"Mei, I can't."

She blinked before looking at Hikaru.

Mei frowned. "What do you mean you can't? You're here for your holidays, right?"

He bit his lip. "Yeah, but only for two weeks… and I brought someone with me."

Mei blinked. "You brought someone?"

Misuzu grinned and clapped excitedly. "Who? Who?"

Katie walked shyly into the pension. "Uh… hello?"

Hikaru turned and smiled. "My girlfriend, Katie."

Katie blushed as she smiled at Hikaru. She walked over to him and took his hand, lacing their fingers together.

Mei stared at the two of them, the concept of them being a couple taking a while to sink in.

Misuzu, however, immediately caught on, and immediately squealed. He pulled the two of them into a tight hug. "Congratulations!"

Katie's eyes were wide as she was crushed. "Uhhh…"

Hikaru's were also wide, although looking back on it, he should have expected it. "Um… thanks?"

Mei bit her lip. "You're… dating?"

Hikaru nodded as he pulled himself and Katie out of Misuzu's grip. "Yeah, we are."

"Oh. Then… why are you here?"

Hikaru wrapped his arm around Katie's waist. "Like I said before: We're here on a holiday."

Misuzu grinned. "Well, we have a room all ready for you two already! And your brother and that other girl are already up in their room!"

Katie blinked. "Andrea and Kaoru are sharing a room?"

Hikaru smirked. "It seems so…" He pulled her towards the stairs to the rooms.

Katie grinned. "Well."

As they reached the stairs, Hikaru kissed Katie's forehead and moved his arm from around her waist.

She frowned at him with confusion written on her face.

"I'll just grab our bags from the limo," he told her. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

She nodded and pecked him on the lips. "Okay." She headed up the stairs to their room.

He grinned, blushing lightly, before turning and heading back to the limo.

Little did he know that this holiday was about to become a lot more interesting.

* * *

"So, you're sharing a room with Kaoru?"

Andrea huffed. "Stop it, Katie. We're just sharing a room. One room, two beds. Nothing is going to happen."

Katie nodded as she searched her suitcase for her pyjamas. "Mhmm. I believe you."

Andrea glared at her. "Shut up." She sighed and lay back on the redheads' bed. "So, this is the first night you'll share a bed with Hikaru?" she teased.

Katie blinked before shaking her head.

Andrea's eyes widened. "You've already shared a bed with him?"

Katie blushed, but pouted. "He had a nightmare. He looked sad… and lonely…"

Andrea just continued to smirk. "But you've shared a bed with him."

"Yeah… and?"

"What did you do?"

"Sleep."

"You slept with him?"

"Shut up!" Katie threw a t-shirt at her. "We were just sleeping!"

"Are you sure there wasn't anything else?"

Katie's blush deepened. "Shut up." She pulled out her pyjamas and closed her suitcase. "Where are the twins anyway?"

"In mine and Kaoru's room," Andrea explained. "They're having some catch-up time." She looked over at Katie. "Why, do you miss your Hika already?"

Katie nodded. "I miss him… and it's weird because I've never missed anyone like this before…" She bit her lip. "Is it bad that I do?"

Andrea shook her head. "No! You're just anxious about your relationship, Katie. Don't worry."

Katie took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, okay…" She headed over to her bathroom. "I'll be out in a few minutes. I'm getting ready for bed."

Andrea nodded. "Alright, then. I'll just wait here…" She relaxed on the bed, waiting for her best friend.

About ten minutes later, Katie emerged with her red hair tied back and her pyjamas on. She skipped over to the bed and sat down on it, grinning when it bounced, causing Andrea to fall off the edge.

"Hey!" she cried out.

Katie laughed. "Oh my gosh, your face!"

Andrea pouted, rubbing her hip. "That hurt!"

"But it was hilarious!"

Just then, Hikaru and Kaoru walked quickly into the room.

"What was that noise?" Kaoru asked.

"Did something happen? Is anyone hurt?" Hikaru asked frantically, looking over at Katie.

Andrea held her hand up. "I am."

Kaoru frowned and walked over to her, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. "What happened?"

"I fell off the bed…" She squeaked as she was pulled to her feet suddenly and fell into Kaoru, knocking them both over.

Katie and Hikaru suddenly looked over, smirking slightly. "Are you two alright?"

Andrea nodded. "I think so…"

Kaoru was blushing. "Y-y-yeah, I'm good."

Andrea frowned at him. "What's wrong?"

"You're kind of… _on top_ of me…"

"Oh…" She quickly got up before pulling him to his feet. "Sorry…"

"It's fine, honest." He smiled reassuringly.

Katie and Hikaru grinned at each other before looking back at Andrea and Kaoru. "So…"

Andrea looked over at them. "So, who wants hot chocolate?"

Kaoru grinned. "I do!"

Hikaru grinned and put his hand up. "So do I! Me too!"

Katie smirked. "I'll have a beverage too… if you're willing to make me tea."

"I'm not going to make you tea. I'll make you hot chocolate, though?"

She huffed. "Fine."

* * *

The group of four sat in Andrea and Kaoru's room, cross-legged on the carpet as they drank their warm beverages, despite the very warm weather.

"This hot chocolate is lovely," Kaoru complimented Andrea as he took a sip of the beverage in his mug.

Andrea smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Kaoru."

"You're very welcome."

Katie smirked as she watched the interactions between the two. _It's so obvious…_

Hikaru pulled his hot chocolate away from his mouth and smiled at Andrea. "This is really delicious! I didn't think you could make hot chocolate so well!" he exclaimed, grinning at her. "You have to make us more sometime!"

Katie giggled.

The older twin had whipped cream all over his upper lip, giving him a whipped-cream moustache.

Kaoru and Andrea sniggered.

Hikaru frowned. "What's so funny?" he asked curiously, looking from person to person before finally stopping at Katie.

His girlfriend smiled and kissed him softly.

Hikaru blushed. "Wh-what was that for?" he asked her, stammering when she had pulled away.

"You had whipped cream on your upper lip," she explained with a chuckle. "I was just taking it off for you."

"Oh…" His blush deepened.

Kaoru sniggered. "I bet you really liked that, Hika," he teased his brother.

Hikaru blushed again before frowning at his brother. "Yeah? Well, I bet you want Andrea to do that to you."

"What?!" Kaoru squeaked and nearly dropped his hot chocolate, blushing deeply and glaring at his brother. "Hika!"

Andrea frowned at Hikaru. "Hey!"

Hikaru just smirked at the two of them. "What? I bet it's true," he continued to tease them, mocking his brother.

"I-i-it's not!" Kaoru argued, his voice going up three or more octaves. "Shut up, Hikaru!"

Katie chuckled at the exchange between the twins. It was very amusing to see them argue… actually, it was more that Hikaru was teasing Kaoru and Kaoru was getting extremely frustrated.

Andrea looked over at Katie, her brows furrowed. "Okay, I'm confused…" she whispered to her best friend.

Kaoru shook his head quickly when he overheard her whisper. "They're talking rubbish! It's nothing!" he told her quickly.

Hikaru chuckled. "Yeah, what he said," he muttered, smirking at Kaoru knowingly.

Kaoru blushed deeply, glaring at his brother as he continued to drink his hot chocolate. "Baka Hikaru…" he muttered sourly.

Katie just laughed at him. "Hikaru's only messing with you, Kaoru. Ignore him."

Hikaru pouted, but Kaoru nodded.

"I will."

The four of them sat in a comfortable silence until they heard a ruckus coming from outside in the corridor.

Hikaru frowned. "What was that?" he asked the others.

The other three shrugged, looking at each other curiously before turning to the door with confusion on their faces.

The group stood, putting their hot chocolates down on the table, before heading to the door and opening it, poking their heads out curiously.

Katie's eyes widened when she saw what was making the noise. "Oh my…"

Andrea, on the other hand, grinned. "Hey guys!"

Rebecca looked over at the four from where she was trying to drag her luggage to her room and smiled, waving at them. "Hi!"

* * *

"What are you guys doing here?"

Eglé smiled at them. "Well, we were invited," she told Katie.

"Invited?" Katie frowned in confusion. "By who?"

"Hikaru."

Katie turned to her boyfriend with slight shock. "You invited them?" she asked him, surprised.

He nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You were pretty upset, so I thought it would cheer you up."

"Awww," Rebecca cooed.

Katie smiled at him before pecking him on the lips. "You're so considerate, Hika… thank you."

Mukta's eyes were wide. "Okay…"

"Oh, we haven't told you yet," Andrea noted as she sipped on her hot chocolate.

"Told us what?" Mukta asked, although Eglé clearly seemed to have an idea of what she was talking about.

"Katie and Hikaru are dating now," the blonde explained.

"They're what?" Rebecca squeaked. "Since when?"

"For a few weeks," Katie told them. She held Hikaru's hand and squeezed it a little with a smile. "And I love it."

Hikaru smiled softly at her. "I'm glad you do."

There was a knock on the door, and four heads popped around the side.

Andrea smiled. "The guys came too!" she exclaimed happily. "Yay!"

Katie looked over and grinned when she saw a very, _very_ familiar face, getting up and heading over to him. "Isaac!"

Isaac grinned and ran into the room, pulling Katie into a tight hug. "I missed you, Katie!" he said as he swung her around, causing her to laugh.

Hikaru tensed slightly from where he sat on the carpet, not entirely comfortable with Katie and Isaac hugging just yet. They hadn't exactly been dating for too long.

Isaac pulled away from Katie with a grin. "How've you been? We haven't spoken in ages!" he exclaimed.

"I know!" Katie grinned at him. "I've been great! Guess what, guess what, guess what?" she said excitedly.

Isaac frowned curiously. "What?" he asked, his head cocked to the side in curiousity.

"I've got a boyfriend!"

He blinked before smiling. "You're finally dating Hikaru?"

Eren stepped into the room with a grin on his face. "You're finally dating Hikaru?" he asked hopefully.

Katie nodded. "We are officially a couple!" she squealed.

Isaac grinned and clapped. "Good for you!" he cheered.

Eren nodded in agreement. "Yeah!" He hugged Katie tightly. "How did it happen?" he asked curiously as he pulled away.

"Long story…" Katie said, sighing.

"_Very_ long story," Andrea added.

Rebecca smiled at them. "We have time. So spill."

Hikaru and Kaoru bit their lips before sighing.

"It all started when Andrea joined Ouran…"

* * *

Katie sighed as she lay back on her bed, flicking through her book. She was reading a manga about one of her favourite card games, Yu-Gi-Oh. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice when Hikaru walked out of the bathroom with his pyjama bottoms on and a towel on his head.

He smirked as he watched Katie read, rubbing his hair dry. "Hey."

Katie looked up from her manga and smiled. "Hey, Hika."

Once he deemed his hair dry, he tossed the towel to the side and lay down beside her, curiousity in his amber orbs. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"Manga," Katie stated, continuing to read.

"What manga?" he asked, avoiding the obvious 'what is manga?'. Being from Japan, he already knew what it was.

"Yu-Gi-Oh GX," Katie stated. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason." He lifted his hand and brought it down on the manga, forcing it out of Katie's hands.

The redhead looked over at him, a frown on her face. "Hey! What was that for?"

He just smirked. "What? I didn't do anything!"

"You knocked my manga out of my hands!"

He moved so that he was leaning over her, his face very close to hers. His lips were a mere centimetre away from hers. "And?"

Katie was speechless, her face slowly turning redder and redder. To be honest, ever since they had started dating they hadn't really had much 'private time' together. So to find herself in this position was new and weird.

Hikaru smirked, leaning a little closer. "And?"

Her eyes flickered down to his lips before meeting his again. "Are you just going to lie on top of me and do nothing?" she asked.

He chuckled before finally pressing his lips to hers, his eyes closing as he kissed her softly.

Katie returned the kiss happily, her eyes shutting and her hands coming up to caress his cheeks before slowly wrapping around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he began to kiss her a little more passionately. Having never done this before, he was a little hesitant at first, but he slowly began to trace patterns on Katie's waist.

Katie shivered slightly as she felt the kiss deepen and tilted her head to the side slightly as she parted her lips.

Small moans emerged from Hikaru's throat as he followed suit, tilting his head in the opposite direction and parting his lips as she had. His hands became restless, soon travelling up and down her sides.

Her lips began to move slowly as she pulled him closer, her fingers tangling in his dark hair. In her mind, she sighed. It wasn't as soft as it had once been, the hair dye covering the strands of hair like shells and hardening them.

The two were just getting more heated when they heard someone clear their throat by the door.

Hikaru quickly pulled away from Katie, rolling off her and onto the bed as his cheeks went bright red. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Katie's face was just as red, if not redder. She sat up and bit her lip, turning to whoever was stood at the door. Her eyes narrowed when she saw who it was.

Andrea and Eglé stood there, both wearing cheeky grins.

"So…" Eglé started, "we were wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with us tonight…"

"But if you're busy…" Andrea continued, winking at Katie and Hikaru.

The couple blushed. "Shut up!" they snapped.

The two girls laughed before turning. "Have fun…!"

"Wait!" Katie called out, standing up. "I'll watch a movie with you."

Andrea turned and smirked. "But you were having fun, weren't you?"

The couple's faces both turned bright red again before Katie hurriedly walked over to them before they could say anything more.

"I'll be back later tonight," she told Hikaru.

Hikaru nodded, biting his lip.

Andrea smirked. "Don't worry, Hikaru. She'll be back for more tonight." She winked at the dark haired boy before pulling Katie out of the room.

Eglé grinned. "Rrrrr," she purred as she followed the other two out of the room with a smirk on her face.

Hikaru's face went bright red at the comments before he buried his face in his pillow. "Go awaaaaaaaay…" he moaned.

Eglé and Andrea laughed as they left.

Hikaru sighed.

_Why did it have to be him?_

* * *

When Katie returned to her room that night, it was already around midnight.

So she wasn't surprised to find that her boyfriend was already asleep.

The elder Hitachiin lay sprawled across the bed, on top of the covers. His hair was splayed out on the pillow, some of it plastered to his forehead, and his face was peaceful, his mouth open slightly as he snored lightly.

But Katie found herself drawn to his bare chest, which moved rhythmically up and down as he breathed softly. It wasn't extremely muscled, but even in the dark Katie could see the outlines of his abs and his chest muscles.

To be quite honest, she found him absolutely gorgeous.

And he was all hers.

She quietly padded over to the bed, carefully lying beside the Hitachiin as he continued to sleep. She nearly yelped as he jumped awake when he opened his eyes sharply as she touched his arm.

He blinked sleepily before turning his amber eyes on her blue ones. "Huh…?" he muttered sleepily.

She smiled softly at him. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked him quietly.

He blinked. The answer to that question was pretty obvious, but he decided to grace her with the ever kind, "No, no, I was just resting my eyes anyway…" he yawned.

She rolled her eyes at him before laying her head on his chest. "You don't have to lie to me, you know." She sighed. "Sorry for getting back so late…"

He shook his head as he closed his eyes again. "Doesn't matter…"

"Oh, okay."

The two lay there quietly, resting with each other. Katie was about to drift off when Hikaru's voice caused her to startle awake.

"What movie did you watch?" He sounded quite awake now, which caused Katie to feel quite guilty. He probably wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

"Mean Girls…" Katie yawned. She was feeling exhausted now, with most of her sugar rush disappearing during the pillow fight the girls had. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she spoke to her boyfriend.

"Mmmm…" Hikaru said tiredly.

Katie rolled her eyes behind her eyelids. _Oh, now he gets tired again…_

"What's it about…?" he asked her.

Katie sighed and began to explain the storyline of the film to Hikaru, not noticing when he had finally fallen asleep until she heard him snore slightly. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, pausing midway through her sentence. She smiled softly.

"Good night, Hikaru," she said softly, kissing his chin.

This time he didn't stir, instead opting to smile in his sleep. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his forehead against hers. He sighed softly in his sleep.

Katie smiled before closing her eyes and eventually drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Wake up…"

Nothing.

"Katie…?"

"Hikaru…"

Still nothing.

A poke.

Hikaru began to stir.

An ankle grabbed.

His eyes opened a little.

And then he fell.

"Gah!"

The girls burst into a fit of giggles as they watched Kaoru pull Hikaru off the bed and onto the floor.

Kaoru just grinned. "Wakey wakey, Hika."

Hikaru just grumbled as he lay on the floor, rubbing his back from where he had landed on the ground rather harshly. "I'm awake, baka."

Kaoru just chuckled. "Somebody's in a mood…"

Hikaru sighed, glaring at his brother. "Well, yeah! You pulled me out of bed! I was really comfy under there!"

"Awww," the girls cooed. "Next to your girlfriend!"

Hikaru blushed. "Shut up."

Rebecca smirked. "Well, I don't blame her for liking your body… your chest is just…"

Hikaru looked down and smirked. Even though he was quite pale, everyone could see the faint muscle lines on his torso. "Well, I do go to the gym regularly… we have a gym in our mansion."

"Wow…" Eglé found herself staring at Hikaru's chest as well.

Hikaru just smirked. Being the obnoxious one of the twins, he always loved it when people fawned over him. Especially females. Having a girlfriend hadn't seemed to change that aspect of him.

That's when Katie finally woke up. She opened her eyes blearily before looking around and noticing how almost everyone was in her room. "Wha… what's going on…?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

Hikaru blushed as he looked over at her. She looked quite cute as she rubbed her eyes sleepily, giving him the urge to literally crawl over to the redhead and pull her into his arms to rock her back to sleep.

The girls smiled at their best friend.

"Well, we were going to ask if you wanted to come shopping with us…" Mukta started.

"…But then we saw you all cuddled up with Hikaru and you looked so adorable…" Rebecca continued.

"So I called Kaoru to wake Hikaru up so that we didn't disturb him whilst waking you up, and to make sure that you didn't have a reason to try and persuade us to let you stay in bed," Eglé finished.

Katie blinked before scowling at them. "So you had to wake my boyfriend up forcefully?"

"We didn't," Andrea pointed out. "Kaoru did."

Katie raised an eyebrow at Kaoru.

Kaoru pouted. "Well, in my defence, Hikaru was enjoying watching the girls stare at his chest," he pointed out, pointing an accusing finger at his brother.

Katie glared at her boyfriend. "Is that true?" she asked.

Hikaru's face went bright red as he avoided her eyes. "I… uh… I think I'll go and shower now," he told her quietly.

"Good idea," Katie agreed.

The others just continued to stare as Hikaru got up and walked out of the room, fully aware or the eyes that were glued to him. He smirked as he reached the bathroom door and stretched, knowing how it showed off what little muscle he had.

Katie rolled her eyes at him as the girls giggled.

He just grinned at his girlfriend as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind himself.

The room was silent for a little while before Rebecca decided to speak.

"Did you see his muscles?"

* * *

"So, where are we going first?"

Katie shrugged as she sat at one of the tables in the main dining room, sipping on her juice. "I don't know… I've never really been here before, so I don't know what the shopping centre is like."

Rebecca frowned. "You've never really been here before?"

"Nope. I've been in Tokyo all this time. Never been to Karuizawa."

Chloe grinned. "Well, it's a first for all of us, then!" She clapped childishly.

Katie sighed. "Yeah, I guess…" She put her chin in her hands as she leaned on the table. "I wish Haruhi was here. Then she could show us around…"

"Hasn't Hikaru been here before?" Rebecca asked curiously as she ate an apple.

"Yeah…" Katie muttered. "So?"

"So, he could show us around!"

"I thought it was only going to be us girls?" Mukta asked, frowning a little at them.

"It is," Katie said. "Which is why I don't want to get Hikaru to come along with us…"

Andrea sat in her seat, watching quietly. It was rare for her to watch like this, but she was doing it. Finally, she spoke up. "I'll get Kaoru to make a map for us to use." She stood and headed upstairs. "It's not that hard, you know."

The others watched her as she walked upstairs, and then they smirked.

"She really does have a crush on him, doesn't she?" Eglé asked.

Katie grinned. "Heck yeah."

* * *

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